Why Are We Throwing Away Perfectly Edible Food? | Food, Wasted 1/3

Chicken breasts, bruised apples and near-expiry yoghurt - these are some perfectly edible food items that suppliers have been throwing away by the tonnes, before they even reach supermarkets and our tables. A lot of this food waste has to do with consumers’ choices.
Globally, we waste 1.3 billion tonnes of food a year, about a third of all food grown for human consumption. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, in industrialised cities in Asia like Hong Kong, Jakarta and Singapore, more than 50% of food waste happens at the consumer and retail stage.
And according to Nicholas Lim from food rescue group TreeDots, one Singapore slaughterhouse can throw out 7 to 15 tonnes of edible chicken meat every day. For one thing, supermarkets contractually bind suppliers to import an extra 10-20% of stock in case there’s more demand than usual.
So TreeDots now goes directly to suppliers, buy up seemingly unsellable food, and sell it for cheap to customers who want it. Other social enterprises like Treatsure, Hong Kong’s GreenPrice and Taiwan’s Goodwill Foods are in the same fight. Working directly with suppliers or farmers, these groups take goods that are close-to-expiry, with dented packaging, or labelled “ugly”, and sell them directly to consumers on e-commerce platforms.
Food, Wasted is a documentary series done in partnership with DBS, exploring the reasons why food waste occurs and what some groups are doing about it; and offers audiences simple but effective solutions to tackle food waste.
To learn more about why we need to work together towards zero food waste and how @DBS is raising awareness on this issue: go.dbs.com/2Ml...
ALSO WATCH:
- Ep 2: Why so much food is lost before it even gets to us • Why So Much Food Is Lo...
- Ep 3: Can urban farming help fix our broken relationship with food? • Can Urban Farming Fix ...
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[@kneegear5123]

People don't like chicken breasts? Can I buy it on the cheap then? I'm the type that hates drums and wings.

[@Gina-no5hm]

Same here. Takes more effort to eat drums and wings too

[@watjejanssen7535]

i dont like breastmeat so i marinade it for sate or in curry

[@ken431256]

Same i only look for breast meat for most cost effectiveness, more lean meat per dollar value

[@shiminlim7378]

​@@ken431256 We sell other parts of the chicken like Boneless Chicken Thighs, Chicken Wings and even parts like Chicken Feet and Bones. All falling out of the standard industry size, hence we sell it at a clearance price & you will defo get a bang for your buck!

[@shiminlim7378]

Yes! Chicken Breast are considered as unpopular parts compared to Chicken Thighs and Chicken Wings. Hence TreeDots take these unpopular parts, undersized or oversized chickens to sell to end-consumers who do not focus too much on its appearance. Unlike F&B businesses whom seek for a standard size part for sale (i.e. a western food store).

[@hermesz_]

I wouldn't mind if the supermarkets- Sheng Siong, NTUC, Giant all have a section for "imperfect" foods. They wouldn't have to throw away foods and the customers could buy them at a lower price

[@youngboon1]

so lets vote our current system out more change party !! and preach more

[@RonLarhz]

Their prices aren't cheap.ntuc often have expiring yogurt and jelly. Value dollar is has cheap expiring goods but all is snacks-->sugar. The site shown in vid also quite ex. $4-5 avg price. The most one cheaper by a dollar ish from longer expiry dates one. No diff imo.

[@ljqcarina6460]

Many customers like us don't mind buying near-expiry or even ugly products but there is simply no supermarkets that offer these choices to begin with. If there are suppliers that will offer lower prices for these products, I will buy them as well. Already buy whole chicken already but I prefer to get frozen one, they are more affordable and I don't care how they look

[@mychannel694]

Absolutely. The same is the case here in India. Although I remember a supermarket near my house once tried listing near expiry items in a different shelf and put a huge discount on them. Wish other stores do the same.

[@user-iw6vf4vl7n]

This is super crazy... When I saw that man measuring those tiny mushrooms with a ruler, I lost it. We, humans, have become very spoiled, pretentious and picky. 😐

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

Yea. And it happens without even thinking about it honestly. I made the switch to imperfect foods recently and was surprised how apprehensive I was when I first opened the box and saw odd looking food. But I forced myself to eat it and now I’ve realized that it all still tastes the same. Didn’t think I had become that picky though so I was surprised 😔

[@diansyahapritama688]

There is this greedy industry which is afraid of running out of stock. Also this beauty standard which discriminates foods based on their sizes and visual.

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

Yea, I’ll admit that I tend to only buy “pretty food” when I purchase it myself. But ever since I signed up for imperfect foods and have people send me the “ugly” stuff instead…well I’ve realized that I just don’t care anymore. It all tastes the same

[@bsolutions525]

Wow this is actually a thing. My favourite part of supermarkets is the near expiry section, so will check treedots out

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

When I worked as a waiter we were taught that the “special” was often just food that was about to go bad the next day. So they were trying to sell as much as possible at break even instead of losing all of their investment. Not sure if it’s as common anymore.

[@888gratitude]

The other problem is the retailers (supermarkets, groceries) strict policy or should I say 'profit mentality'. I'd found overripe fruits and willing to buy it, but the manager was not willing to reduce the price. Duh! You try to help buy the almost 'to be discarded' food but owners/managers of these shops are not willing to sacrifice a fraction of their margin.

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

Yea, we’ve setup a system where we care about turning a profit first and protecting the environment….maybe second? Probably third…

[@robertwalton1054]

My neighbors throw away lots of food every week. Just last week they threw away 5 loaves of bread that weren't opened, a bag of carrots untouched and lots of other food. I eat the food they throw away

[@user-uz8yo7ij6l]

wait doesn't that mean u eat out of the bin? (no offence)

[@matreen427]

that’s funny... chicken breasts cost more than other parts at the supermarket! wish they could lower the prices for chicken breast

[@ljqcarina6460]

Exactly! This is also the reason why I buy whole chicken to begin with, I try to look for chicken breasts and was really shocked that frozen chicken breasts cost more than frozen chicken thigh and wings. And I always go for frozen one, no need to worry for expiry date or appearance

[@sdqsdq6274]

they rather throw away then sell you ,lol

[@kemalasaridina1898]

Exactly my point. It's not 'being thrown away', most people just don't eat them because they cost more. This video made me laugh 😂

[@kevjumbaz]

just finished watching the entire 3 part series. would like to say first off thank you cna for bringing up this issue as this is a major issue that can be easily changed through education. however i think that mainly the important thing to remember is that although there are products that are still consumable after the best before date, one should always take extra precaution especially when dealing with food items such as diary, raw fish, etc. that can very quickly double their bacterial count given the right environment. another point to bring up is that the implementation of the good samaritan law has yet to be implemented as well so restaurants are unable to give away their unsold food and this contributes to the number of food wastage as well. much to be done but seems like not alot of action is being taken.

[@jeffreychongsathien]

If you let corporations act like the psychopaths they are, you end up with this. There's no financial incentive to eliminate waste.

[@niahma3494]

This deserves more views and needs to be screened in schools

[@ramadhanramlan]

And the emmy goes to CNA. Excellent job again guys.

[@deckarddwizardd1909]

In the Philippines, no cut of meat is spared. Everything is eaten, even the intestines and the soft bones. I guess this dilemma is for first world countries only

[@PinoyAbnoy]

@Momotaro .oOMegidoraReincarnatedOo. is eating chicken feet or head popular in first world in the west?

[@simsgazytech2013]

Indonesian too. We have fried liver, fried lung, goat/sheep/cow head curry/soup, intestine sate, chicken feet ( by seblak, noodle , soup, dimsum etc), cow/sheep's brain curry. Even Our KFC sold fried chicken skin too and it is one of the best seller menu.

[@user-uz8yo7ij6l]

why don't the supermarkets put close to expiry items at the back since if many of us reach for the items at the back if the close to expiry items are at the back, then we will take the close to expiry items

[@happydays123]

Marketplace in Raffles City has “reduce to clear” where prices are lower but must consume quickly. Downside is I have to be there when they put out these on the shelves. They are gone pretty fast.

[@kemalasaridina1898]

Oh honey, those are not 'thrown-away food'. Those are food that are deliberately left out by those big companies to keep the market price high rather than making them affordable to all people. It's never about the customer's preference. Don't blame the consumers, blame those big corporations 😂

[@yuankejin3378]

I don't mind ugly food as long as they are good to eat

[@franklee8032]

The food might be nutritionally good, but what about taste wise? If they don't taste as good, shouldn't they be sold at a discount, rather than expecting the consumer to forgo a better product for no reason?

[@bintangdilangit3348]

@Michelle N. Sirca supermarket in my country do this for the fruits and vegetables that are still good but not pretty enough they make it juice or fry it

[@badboi888]

Supermarket need to implement more incentive on near-expiry/overripe food. Who would choose these food over a better one at the same price..?

[@simsgazytech2013]

This !! So far only one supermarket in Indonesia implemented this type of pricing and it is not in Jakarta but in Bandung .

[@alicewoods1]

That’s why I never ever throw away food. If I buy it I eat it or I get my partner to eat it 😜 chop it into small tiny sizes and throw it in the fried rice

[@1M005E1]

First off in the USA, they use every part of the chicken or other meats, what is not consumable for people to eat is fed to pets. What I do find in the USA, is places that throw food away, in stead of giving to a food pantry, or giving to a homeless shelter. I'm talking, go into McDonalds, or any other restaurant, that has left over's as they made too much, & it's thrown out to the garbage. Even if you ask to buy it, they will tell you no.

[@hunterhq295]

They should compost this in compost machines

[@jinsoonchin5205]

I have been unlucky buying fruits that are not sweet or losy taste. And felt that i have being cheated.

[@kemalasaridina1898]

Chicken breast is less popular because they're more expensive than thigh and drumstick....

[@joshuaryuyamajiang9095]

I want give you a hint that Greenprice in HK sells nearly expired stuff

[@juanmarcuslopez3018]

It's not for whole Asia. In the Philippines we use almost every part of the chicken even the insides.

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

Good. The rest of us need to get back to that. My wife made me eat chicken feet for the first time last month. Honestly I was scared at first but ended up really liking them!

[@forgetmepls]

all the money you saved from eating food waste may turn into 100k to 200k hospital bill

[@M43782]

Strange, I would pick chicken breast over other part of chicken. But I am in general avoid eating meat (I like fish). I don't like meat, especialy the structure. The chicken breast is the best for me if it is without hard parts or fat in it.

[@dmitriyobidin6049]

Because we are idiots. And retailers like "whole foods"(and other "healthy" high-end retailers) are promoting standards HOW a healthy food should look like, appealing to the esthetics of food, not just how it taste. And i get it, but then you go to a local market and you see that perfectly good vegies are not that beautiful, and people are not so willing to buy ugly vegies, even though they are cheaper. Our view of our products is pretty messed up at this point.

[@eirams]

So that is why a lot of promotions going on from time to time. :) Hope they will continue having promotions than throwing it away!

[@nelsonicies4800]

Can countries suffering from hunger issues, get a "just pay shipping" deal for these thrown out foods ?

[@nenmaster5218]

Food-Waste was amazingly covered by Second Thought in his video named 'Is Cpaitalism Actually Efficient??'. We can all do Something aainst this; some things probably come to mind; but i wanna add: Even outside of Rallys, important people often do answer Questions from 'normal Dudes', so isnt that an Opportunity for Much?!

[@dhrgkbqxtjr2743]

This is terrible. And I say this as someone who buys Whole Chicken. Why aren't the wasted parts being used as dog food at least????? This isn't the customer's fault, this is the industry just being lazy and inefficient. Producers need to do better and allocate their output properly. They have the market info on what customers buy and how much, choosing to purposely waste the less popular parts instead of using it in other things is the producer's fault.

[@jennywu73]

Chicken breast in the United States is very expensive.

[@Saiku584]

Im dying inside when i heard the chick breast part,

[@creestee08]

oh boy. the subtitles helps a lot. its so uninteligible without subs.

[@noirto2]

could have solve it with reduce to clear policy, for some reason they rather you pay full price for stuff that have only 1 day left and wonder why no one buy it and than throw out massive amount of products.

[@vexcarius7100]

You don’t just throw away food. You also throw away life that has been sacrificed to feed us humans.

[@freemagicfun]

I don't know about chicken breasts, they seem to be one of the most versatile cuts of chicken... but maybe the dislike is a Singapore thing? As for ugly fruit... I am not buying it, and my produce vendor knows that. I use the same vendor all the time, and they ensure I get the produce I want. If I am dicing the tomato or bell pepper, the look is not so important really - but I would not pay full price for it. But I will take ugly fruit if it is free. Uncle is a farmer, when the market buyer picks up the crops, we go have free choice of the scraps. Anything slightly misshapen will not go to market. 😎

[@christinesung8884]

I always buy $2 less waste fruits. Save $ + less waste + you'll still het the nutrients you need from these fruits!

[@watjejanssen7535]

nobody ever heard of foodbanks ?

[@anggasurbakti8269]

It still cost to transport ingredients, the food processing plant will not want to add more cost and foodbanks usually don't have enough money to pay the transport daily.

[@watjejanssen7535]

@@anggasurbakti8269 foodbanks work in Europe so there is no reason to trow away food unless all you people are rich

[@h.o.j2375]

The part about chicken breast is just stupidity on the restaurant or supplier’s behalf, why throw it out when you can use it to make other items and sell it for a profit? It can go into items like spring rolls or mince balls, items where people can’t actually see the cut of meat they are getting in it and to improve the texture and taste just add back in some fat from chicken skin or other source of fat. Even turning it into dog or cat food would bring in $$$. Where as throwing it out would just be total loss and waste. Can’t people use common sense or ingenuity?

[@MrChubhub22]

talking about wasting food you should go to the food safety labs and see how much food is being thrown away that was perfect that could easily go back into the market or feed the homeless.

[@SaveMoneySavethePlanet]

Yea, I was surprised when I found out that the official recommendation by the USDA is to ignore the date, and instead eat it if it still smells, looks, and tastes normal. So I was like, “then why did my mom teach me to throw away stuff past the date?!?!?”

[@eduardochavacano]

nobody wants to change the world. Because we need the poor and hungry to stay desperate. Without the poor, there will be no maids to teach Singapore kids English. The kids do not learn English from their very expensive international school and foreign teachers.

[@lisadawn8856]

Very informative.

[@TattoosLovers]

Wow how i wish sg will have store like that in hk selling best before goods .

[@SW-fy8pq]

I am happy to buy "imperfect" food as long as a good discount is given.

[@kyubbikcat2281]

Why doesn’t Americans doing this instead of demanding free food?

[@ctnorth__6480]

Expired in a few days still can be sell.. Sell it cheap.. Give to charity.. Retailers attitude have to change.. Not everyone react the same.. Although they are looking at majority.. But effort needed.. Ppl. Mindset.. Education needed... Some products should said it is not spoil after expired. Use your senses.

[@Chickchick-fv7nh]

I still believe that a beautiful food has better quality than the ugly one in term of nutrient ect.

[@godsamazinggrace5331]

it's the mindset → something ingrained → takes time to change for some people

[@TeamPhilippines]

Singaporean Throw away Chicken Breast? Whaaaatttt???

[@funwheels3307]

Sigh... the sins of modern society... looking only for the perfect...

[@noproblematallmate]

just like how you are looking for the perfect society

[@FrozenHonors]

and pls la, if you offer breast at 50% the cost of legs then you wont have wastage cuz everyone will buy it on sale/discount

[@wymmyw8744]

bananas for example.. i won't buy the beautiful ones, taste like sand.. so disgusting.. the ugly and brown spotted ones are the most delicious and sweet..

[@underwaterdream2870]

Lol, I've watched another documentary about chicken and problems with food, but it was about Europe's tastes. The most wanted and expensive chicken part here (Europe) is actually chicken... breast. I's loved because of low fat content and ability to take in other flavours. That documentary stated that the legs and wings that Europeans discard are frozen and sold cheaply to Afrikan countries. What's interesting, I can see here every chicken wing dish has those wing tips attached. We ALWAYS cut those off. At home people give those to pets or use them to make chicken broth, but it's never fried with the rest of chicken wing. Even cheap frozen breaded chicken wings don't have those. In the same time I can imagine some Asian people loving monching of this part when it's fried... xd lol But the thing is we could split chicken between SE Asia and Europe and everybody would be happy and thinking they've got the best part XD

[@nenmaster5218]

Food-Waste was amazingly covered by Second Thought in his video named 'Is Cpaitalism Actually Efficient??'. We can all do Something aainst this; some things probably come to mind; but i wanna add: Even outside of Rallys, important people often do answer Questions from 'normal Dudes', so isnt that an Opportunity for Much?!

[@dannyo1471]

Insight: Maybe there's no poverty in Singapore.

[@WeaveTheStory]

I'm glad Singapore is finally catching up and addressing these issues. Glad to see social enterprises and customers supporting eco conscious measures and assisting food banks.

[@wolfgangk2824]

Who does this simply has too much money

[@RonLarhz]

Put it in nuggets or sausages lah instead of garbage like bones n fats. Somemore free food/food bank foods are only obtainable if u are beneficiaries of charity organizations. Low income ppl who aren't in these organisations and the public who dun mind can't even get these. They just throw rather than give free. Wayang only.

[@dissolver5388]

spore is kiasu

[@mariaannainditahernawati7132]

segitu banyak daging ayam yg nggak dipakai? bikin aja bakso, nugget mentok soto dan nasi goreng kelaaaarrrr

[@PurpleAppleDrink]

amongus

[@Oliver-qk3dp]

I always eat thigh and breast. More meat for me it us a no brainer

[@Doconline-natural-cures]

❣😍❣😍❣😍❣😍❣

[@youngboon1]

Don't the 345 likes cares about their cpf money locked inside can't take out ? Shouldn't we choose not to live a low life ?

[@creestee08]

albeit is pronounced as ol.bi.it. 3 syllables. 14:15

[@TheDHEL13]

What is with our obsession with perfection?

[@DisgruntleSundaypig]

Can't these foods be donated? Or sold at a lower price while at the same time justifying the reason why? I am pretty sure public will buy them, well I will.

[@brackpersian]

why never feature "Ugly Foods" Brand? CNA u can do better.