{"id":22602,"date":"2025-08-07T15:36:52","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T13:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.melform.com\/?p=22602"},"modified":"2025-08-07T15:36:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T13:36:09","slug":"school-hospital-and-corporate-canteens-how-much-food-is-really-wasted-before-being-served","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.melform.com\/en\/insights\/school-hospital-and-corporate-canteens-how-much-food-is-really-wasted-before-being-served\/","title":{"rendered":"SCHOOL, HOSPITAL, AND CORPORATE CANTEENS: HOW MUCH FOOD IS REALLY WASTED BEFORE BEING SERVED?"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"\r\n\r\nBetween incorrect temperatures, uncontrolled transport, and inefficient storage, millions of tons of food are discarded every year<\/strong>. The paradox is that this happens precisely in the places that should provide safe and consistent nourishment: school, hospital, and corporate canteens.\r\n\r\nIn an era where food waste<\/strong> is central to every sustainable strategy, the cold chain is still too often the weakest link<\/strong>. And the numbers speak for themselves.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nItaly:<\/strong>\r\nApproximately 210,000 tons of food are wasted annually in school canteens<\/strong>, and at least 15% of this is due to suboptimal storage and transport<\/strong>. This amounts to over 31,000 tons<\/strong> of food lost in the cold chain alone.\r\n\r\nEurope:<\/strong>\r\nAccording to the European Environment Agency 2023, 88 million tons of food <\/strong>are discarded annually in the EU. 20%<\/strong> of this is due to cold chain errors (transport, storage, distribution), totaling approximately 17.6 million tons.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWorld:<\/strong>\r\nGlobally, 500 million tons of food <\/strong>are lost each year due to inefficiencies in refrigeration, transport, and storage<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nFood waste is not just an ethical issue, but an environmental, social, and economic problem. This is why Target 12.3 of the UN 2030 Agenda sets two precise goals<\/strong>:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels;<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nIn practice, this means addressing all causes of waste, not just on the final consumer’s plate, but especially in the upstream phases, where waste is often invisible yet extremely impactful.\r\n\r\nAccording to the FAO<\/em>, over 40% of global food waste occurs before food reaches tables<\/strong>, due to inadequate storage, refrigeration errors, and ineffective transport.\r\n\r\nIn the collective catering sector (schools, hospitals, businesses), this translates into food that breaks the cold chain, is discarded for hygiene and health reasons, or cannot be served because it has deteriorated.\r\n\r\nReducing these losses means cutting CO\u2082 emissions, saving resources, and lowering costs, but it also contributes to more resilient and equitable food systems. Investing in solutions for a high-performing cold chain \u2013 such as professional isothermal containers \u2013 is one of the most effective and immediate ways to align with SDG 12.3 and concretely address the global challenges of the future.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nA high-performing cold chain:\r\n
      \r\n \t
    • Maintains the nutritional properties <\/strong>of food.<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Reduces waste by up to 30%.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
    • Prevents contamination<\/strong> and hygiene\/health issues.<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Lowers costs<\/strong> related to disposal, reorders, and service interruptions.<\/li>\r\n \t
    • Helps comply with increasingly stringent regulations.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nFor those managing school, healthcare, or corporate canteens, it’s a strategic and environmental lever.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nMELFORM insulated containers<\/strong> are designed to ensure thermal control even in the most challenging conditions<\/strong>, offering:\r\n
        \r\n \t
      • Extended thermal autonomy.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
      • Maximum resistance to temperature fluctuations.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
      • Safe and durable materials.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t
      • Compatibility with electric and sustainable transport.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nFrom school meals to hospital diets MELFORM containers help reduce waste, improve efficiency, and increase the sustainability of food logistics<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n\"\"\r\n\r\nIf you are looking for solutions to optimize your cold chain and contribute to the sustainability of your canteen service, we are ready to support you<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nContact us and discover the MELFORM line for collective catering.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Between incorrect temperatures, uncontrolled transport, and inefficient storage, millions of tons of food are discarded every year. The paradox is that this happens precisely in the places that should provide safe and consistent nourishment: school, hospital, and corporate canteens. In an era where food waste is central to every sustainable strategy, the cold chain is […]","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":22572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSCHOOL, HOSPITAL, AND CORPORATE CANTEENS: HOW MUCH FOOD IS REALLY WASTED BEFORE BEING SERVED? - MELFORM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.melform.com\/en\/insights\/school-hospital-and-corporate-canteens-how-much-food-is-really-wasted-before-being-served\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SCHOOL, HOSPITAL, AND CORPORATE CANTEENS: HOW MUCH FOOD IS REALLY WASTED BEFORE BEING SERVED? - MELFORM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Between incorrect temperatures, uncontrolled transport, and inefficient storage, millions of tons of food are discarded every year. 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