Reducing apple waste and loss in the Sainsbury’s
supply chain: a demonstration project
Sainsbury’s wanted to understand how much waste there was in
their apple supply chain, and where it was occurring, in order to
reduce it. In a project with WRAP, Sainsbury’s looked at their supply
chain to map key sources of apple waste and loss, and to identify
and trial solutions to reduce this waste. It was found that levels of
waste were actually fairly low, indicating good practices, yet
opportunities to reduce this further were identified, trialled and are
being rolled out across all stores.
Key benefits achieved:
 Primary and secondary packaging changes have the
potential to reduce Sainsbury’s apple waste by over
125 tonnes and save over £100,000
 The packaging changes are directly applicable to
other produce lines, meaning significant further
opportunities for Sainsbury’s and other companies to
reduce waste.
Summary
Waste ‘hot spots’
mapping
“This project demonstrates that even in retail supply chains with
relatively low waste (like Sainsbury’s apple supply chain) by collecting
data and challenging every element in the supply chain there are
always improvements to be made.” Dr Theresa Huxley, Product
Technologist, Top Fruit & Stonefruit, Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd.
Opportunities and trials
Further actions
Resources
Page 1
page 1
Distribution damage / loss and wastage ‘hot spots’ mapping
Distribution damage / loss and wastage ‘hot spots’ were identified by following the apple supply chain from controlled
atmosphere (CA) storage at the pack house through to retailer shelf in store. Each process step was sub divided into
individual process operations and the handling, storage conditions and arrangements, transportation mechanisms, notes on
packaging, packed quantities, process conditions and supplementary comments from supply chain partner staff were noted.
At each operation within each process step the distribution hazards likely to cause damage to the fruit were assessed visually
and categorised on a scale from minor through moderate to severe.
The orange suns mark the losses and red suns mark the waste hot spots, and their relative size indicates their relative
magnitude. The bracketed sun around cleaning, sorting and packing is to indicate that losses or diversion from primary uses
to juicing or peeling (pie filling etc.) is primarily due to the natural fruit variation.
Summary
Waste ‘hot spots’
mapping
Opportunities and trials
Further actions
Resources
Page 2
page 2
Identifying waste reduction initiatives
The results of the damage mapping, ‘hot spots’ analysis and apple loss quantification exercise were reviewed by a multifunctional team including product technologists, marketing, logistics and packaging along with proposals for waste reduction
initiatives. Nine waste/loss reduction initiatives were proposed. Having considered feasibility, timescale and potential impact,
four were chosen by the project team to focus on. Two of these were taken forward to trials and two are still under
investigation.
Bag format
Flow wrap
Flow wrap packaging trial
Using flow wrap packaging allows apples to be packed into a
single layer rather than jumbled up in a bag. The trial resulted
in an 11% reduction in apple waste in store due to:
 Improved packing in crates - less localised loading of apples
by crate sides or bases and load is spread more evenly
 Reduced staff and consumer handling damage - visibility of
the apples is improved thus reducing the need to 'rummage'
to check apple quality
Flow wrap results
 Greater rigidity in the pack means reduced movement of
apples during transit or handling.
 At least 11% reduction in apple waste 38.5 tonnes less waste per year
 Over £40,000 financial savings per year
This trial is being rolled out across Sainsbury’s.
Summary
Waste ‘hot spots’
mapping
 Applicable to a variety of other produce.
Opportunities and
trials
Further actions
Resources
Page 3
page 3
Obvious date code trial
A new crate topper for UK
apples has been designed
to accommodate ODC. As
well as improving the
appearance of the trays,
the previous plastic crate
liner has now been
eliminated, leading to
additional packaging
savings.
‘Obvious date code’ (ODC) is a new idea at Sainsbury’s to
remove ‘Best before’ coding from the bags on bagged
apples and code the crate or tray only. The ‘Best before’
coding is marked on the tray using an orange triangular
self-adhesive label. Visibility of the ‘Best before’ date is
retained in the supply chain and at point of purchase, but
not visible on packaging in the household.
The trial resulted in at least 24% reduction in
apple waste in-store due to reduced handling – it is
now easier for replenishment staff to check for short/out
of date produce and consumers don't need to check
individual bags to seek longer shelf life.
WRAP research shows that a small percentage of apple
waste in the home is due to date labels being ‘cited’, so it
may be possible to influence levels of household waste by
making changes to date coding, however the focus of this
project work was on supply chain waste and didn’t include
any elements of consumer research.
Until we are able to conduct further research, WRAP’s
current recommendation is to include a ‘Best before’ date
on pre-packed produce. See WRAP’s full labelling
recommendations for details.
Summary
Waste ‘hot spots’
mapping
Obvious date code results
 84.7 tonnes less apple waste in
store per year
 Over £60,000 financial saving
per year
 Packaging savings on UK apples
 Applicable to a variety of other
produce
This trial is being rolled out across
Sainsbury’s.
Opportunities and
trials
Further actions
Resources
ODC on imported crates
Page 4
Further actions being investigated
Reducing damage at depot
The project found increased apple damage when plastic
crates (UK apples) are packed on top of corrugated trays
(imported apples). Despite training staff not to do this,
the practice still does occur. A potential solution is to
incorporate the type of crate into the IT stock
management system to allow improved planning. This
would ensure pickers always have plastic crates below
corrugated trays. As well as reducing damage, it is likely
pick efficiency would also be improved.
As investment is needed to alter the IT system, a full
business case needs to be established, taking into
account that this would benefit all produce being handled.
A new system for recording damage at depots and fruit
hubs, using a fixed, drop down menu, has been proposed.
With better understanding of where waste is occurring,
Sainsbury's will be able to identify solutions and take action
to reduce waste for all produce lines.
Further information and resources
WRAP have created a handy ‘Digest’ of all of our guidance,
tools and research regarding fresh produce, see:
http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/food-waste-preventiondigests-and-webinars.
Improving data recording of damage
Damaged apples returned from Sainsbury's distribution
centres to growers/packers via the fruit hubs, are logged
and a reason given for the damage. This is currently a
'free' field in a database and has resulted in a diverse
range of reasons, variations in wording and spelling
mistakes, making analysis very difficult. This means
Sainsbury's do not have a clear idea of what type of
damage is occurring.
Further actions
Summary
Waste ‘hot spots’
mapping
Opportunities and trials
Resources
Page 5
WRAP’s vision is a world where resources are used sustainably. It
works in partnership with governments, businesses, trade bodies,
local authorities, communities and individuals looking for practical
advice to improve resource efficiency that delivers both economic
and environmental benefits.
Our mission is to accelerate the move to a sustainable resourceefficient economy through:
-
re-inventing how we design, produce and sell products,
re-thinking how we use and consume products, and
re-defining what is possible through recycling and re-use.
First established in 2000, WRAP is a registered charity. WRAP works with UK Governments and other funders
to help deliver their policies on waste prevention and resource efficiency.
WRAP is a registered Charity No. 1159512 and registered as a Company limited by guarantee in England &
Wales No. 4125764. Registered office at Second floor, Blenheim Court, 19 George Street, Banbury OX16 5BH.
Find out more about our work www.wrap.org.uk
WRAP
Second floor, Blenheim
Court, 19 George Street,
Banbury OX16 5BH
Tel: 01295 819 900
Fax: 01295 819 911
E-mail: [email protected]
Published October 2015
MAR102-305