Kellogg has taken a small step to reduce food waste in its manufacturing process by sending reject Cornflakes from a nearby facility to a UK brewery; the Cornflakes — rejected for being too small, too large, or too “crunchy” (that is, over cooked) — are being used as part of the grain which goes into the new Throw Away IPA from Seven Bro7hers Brewery in Manchester.
The beer uses 60 kg of Cornflakes to replace some of the grain in the brewing process. The use of Cornflakes sweetens the beer and adds to its golden color.
A portion of sales from the IPA will go to food distribution charity FareShare, according to The Telegraph.
Kellogg has already reduced food waste from its UK sites by 12.5% this year, says corporate social responsibility manager Kate Prince.
In 2017, Kellogg made a commitment to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and to reduce food losses along the production and supply chains, by 2030. The company said that reducing food waste within its facilities represents approximately $30 million in potential cost savings, based on the cost of raw materials.
Kellogg said it views leftover or unwanted materials as valuable assets rather than “waste,” and and that it would be sending such materials to landfill only as a last resort. “Our ultimate goal is therefore to prevent food from being wasted in the first place and that any edible surplus food is donated to people in need. In cases where this is not appropriate, we send it to be used as animal feed,” the company said at the time.
Reducing food waste is one piece of the food company’s waste reduction goals. In October, Kellogg announced that it is expanding its sustainability commitments to include a goal of working towards 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by the end of 2025. Kellogg has been actively working with its suppliers to identify packaging designs that minimize waste while ensuring the quality and safety of its foods, the company says. For example, in Europe, Kellogg is working on a project to move its cereal pouches to a recycle-ready material by late 2019, which will remove an estimated 480 metric tons of non-recyclable packaging from its supply chain per year.
