From Japan comes the neat idea of meat labels that go dark when the food becomes unsafe, preventing bar code scanning. Fresh Labels work by detecting levels of ammonia in the meat, preventing stores from tampering with expiration dates, a recent problem in Japan.
I love the idea, since it focuses on when the food actually [...]

Here’s a look inside the food-waste-to-energy plant in Oakland. Hey Bay Area folks, keep your oyster shells, rags and rocks out of the compost!
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Using watermelon cast-offs to make fuel? Seriously? I thought watermelon was about 99% water? And which have more energy–original or seedless?
Of course, it’d be great if we weren’t so superficial about [...]

Today, I spoke with chef Liza Shaw of San Francisco’s A16. The Italian restaurant has a bit of a reputation for its Meatball Mondays, where they serve the uber-popular dish made from scraps and trimmings.
A16 mostly uses prosciutto scraps saved throughout the week. No wonder they’re so good! 
I realized meatloaf, sausages and soups were good uses for odds and [...]

OK, let’s talk about the Never Ending Pasta Bowl at Olive Garden. First of all, shouldn’t it be the Never-Ending Pasta Bowl? Second, is it possible to stop thinking about The NeverEnding Story while you’re eating? Because I’m having a hard time doing so now (Atreyuuuu!).
Sorry. Anyway, I just saw a Tweet from a frustrated Pasta Bowl customer [...]

Semantics update: Don’t call it waste! After all, you wouldn’t throw away a resource, would you?
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Inmate gleaning?! Sure beats breaking rocks. Besides, how many license plates do states really need?
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Here’s a study assessing the environmental impact of five different scenarios for handling food waste. It turns out that a garbage disposal is best, but that’s assuming [...]

Are we anteaters or woodpeckers? That’s the question implied in this thought-provoking post from Beyond Bread. (Trust me, it makes sense upon reading.)
After making a distinction between those two animals, the piece delves into a discussion of the noble practice of farmer’s market food rescue. Recovering unsold produce at the end of a market just makes so much [...]

It’s about that time of year again. No, not back to school–not quite yet. Ramadan.
While the Muslim holy month doesn’t begin until Friday, the pre-holiday anti-waste press is ramping up. In Turkey, an anti-waste group warned that the nation’s troubling food waste levels (3.5 million loaves wasted/day!) rise during Ramadan. The Turkish Foundation for Waste Reduction (TIVSA) noted [...]

I guess the Yankees aren’t all bad.
There’s a neat article in today’s Times tracing the path of donated concession food from Yankee Stadium to those in need in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Rock and Wrap it Up facilitates this donation of unsold event food and many others. I spent a pleasant summer evening talking with founder Syd Mandelbaum [...]

Less waste through technology: When farmer’s market orders are made in advance online, growers only pick what they know will go to use. 
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The EPA food waste calculator–out sometime in September, I think–will let businesses calculate how diverting food from their waste stream will save them dough. (Hat tip to Lean Path.)
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Even celebrity chefs are [...]

Bye bye, ‘buy-one-get-one-free?’ This beloved sales scheme is under threat in the UK, where it’s called BOGOF.
The British government is working on its first food policy since WWII rationing ended and released a preliminary assessment on Monday. In the food policy, the government will call on retailers to abolish the tempting retail policy blamed for luring [...]