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Reducing the environmental impact
Romy Foods provides quality food while minimising the environmental impact of its activities
At a time when food waste is top of mind around the world, we at Romy Foods are dedicated to making a difference.
Our responsibility is to provide quality food with full traceability for our customers and consumers. However, as a responsible business we take our commitment even further. We do this by minimising the environmental impact of our activities thanks to our unique delivery system.
In the public debate, processed meals are often considered as having a negative impact on the environment. However, according to several respected universities and research organisations, the environmental impact of meal preparation is neutral when comparing a frozen meal to one prepared with a traditional cook serve method.
The “Industrial Processing versus Home Cooking” report by the Royal Swedish Academy of Science has revealed that the three main food preparation methods - frozen, semi-prepared and homemade from scratch – “showed relatively similar environmental impacts, and the differences were too small to draw any conclusions regarding the most environmentally favourable scenario.”
Likewise, research conducted by ÖkoInstitut e.V. and Deutsches Tiefkühlinstitut, Germany shows that “the carbon footprints of frozen food and other forms of supply (self-prepared, chilled, ambient) are comparable and on a par. So, from a scientific point of view, a blanket condemnation of frozen foods based on aspects of climate is not tenable.”
Besides, the environmental impact of different food production methods, relevant research has also been conducted on food waste.
For example, international research carried out by the technology company Winnow shows that over 70% of all food waste happens before it reaches the consumer plate, compared with less than 30% of food waste coming from the plate itself.
Food prepared in advance in kitchens wastes up to 20% of total food costs due to over-production, kitchen errors, spoilage and damaged produce.
“It is evident that, within this total amount of waste, over 60% of food waste by weight is thrown away because kitchens prepare more food than customers are able to eat.” – Winnow.
We at Romy Foods have conducted our own market research and we have discovered that traditionally cooked lunch menus use approximately 600g of food per person, compared to a figure of 400g using portion-controlled food; thus, validating the available research.
Along with contributing towards our Zero Food Waste Vision, these savings are also monetary; resulting in reduced costs for our customers and financing our “A Meal for A Meal” Corporate Social Responsibility programme.
At Romy Foods we can proudly say we reduce food waste and environmental impact!
In terms of packaging, in addition to the positive impact of consistent portion size, low energy consumption for cooking and batch packaging, our unique Torus Pak® system uses low-migration certified food packaging made from polypropylene which is considered to be the most environmentally friendly type of plastic. We have considered the environmental impact of the various types of plastic present in packaging. For example, a report from the University of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, compares twelve plastics using the Life Cycle Assessment method, which takes into consideration the different stages of plastic from manufacturing to decomposition. Of the 12 varieties, polypropylene comes first and is therefore considered the least harmful to the environment.
“Atom economy is shown to be an indicative predictor of low life-cycle environmental impacts. Polyolefin polymers exhibit 100% atom economy and result in the lowest environmental impacts.” – University of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
Your organisation can contribute to a reduced environmental impact by using Romy Foods Smart Catering or Plug & Play meals.
Join us for a more human and responsible future!