Food loss and waste baseline checklist

Policy and scope

• A documented food loss and waste policy is signed by top management, with objectives that are measurable and have owners and dates (FSSC 22000 additional requirement 2.5.16(a)).
• The scope states which sites, lines, products and waste streams are included, and where the measurement boundary starts and ends (receiving to dispatch, or wider).
• Definitions are fixed and written: what counts as food loss, food waste, inedible parts, by-product, rework and donation, so that the figures are comparable over time.
• The hierarchy used to rank actions (prevent, redistribute to people, feed animals, recycle or recover, dispose) is written down and used to choose interventions.

Baseline and hotspots

• A quantification method is chosen and documented (direct weighing, waste composition analysis, mass balance, records, or a combination), with its limits noted.
• A baseline has been measured over a period long enough to cover normal variation (products, seasons, shifts), with the raw data kept.
• The mass balance reconciles: inputs against outputs, by-products, waste and rework, and the difference is explained.
• Hotspots are identified by product, process step, cause (over-production, changeover, trimming, quality rejection, expiry, damage) and cost, and ranked.
• The cost of waste is calculated at full value (ingredients, labour, energy, packaging and disposal), not at disposal cost only, and reported to management.

Controls and review

• Food donated to people goes through a documented control: it is safe, within date, labelled, stored and transported correctly, and the recipient and the handover are recorded (2.5.16(b)).
• Surplus sent to animal feed is protected from contamination and meets the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 36 of 1947 and the customer's specification, with records of what went where (2.5.16(c) and (d)).
• Interventions for the top hotspots are funded, have owners and dates, and their effect is measured against the baseline.
• Food loss and waste is an input to the management review, and the objectives are updated at least annually.
• Staff on the lines and in the kitchen have been trained on the top causes of waste in their area and the measures they are part of.