Messe Düsseldorf and FAO Join in Food Initiative
- Published: July 17, 2013
CHICAGO, IL | Trade show organizer Messe Düsseldorf and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) have reached an agreement about their continued cooperation for the SAVE FOOD initiative for the coming years. Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, president and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, and Daniel Gustafson, deputy director-general, operations at FAO, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it FAO’s headquarters in Rome.
The goal of the SAVE FOOD initiative is to reduce global food loss and waste in order to improve food security and conserve resources. This is accomplished by generating awareness of the problem and pooling the expertise of public and private organizations. The latter have been able to join the initiative as sponsors since the beginning of 2012. The aim is to develop general strategies and thus create opportunities for engagement and investment. Numerous companies, associations, and organizations have already become sponsors of the SAVE FOOD initiative.
The focus of the cooperation between Messe Düsseldorf and FAO for the SAVE FOOD initiative will be on studies designed to expand the understanding of food loss and measures to prevent it in certain markets. To this end, FAO has established an internal program and created an interdisciplinary working group devoted to food loss. This working group is also combining knowledge from the various FAO departments and taking advantage of these synergies for the SAVE FOOD initiative.
The first study, for Kenya, is already in progress. Its purpose is to determine the extent of food loss within certain food supply chains, identify suitable counter-measures, and test them for their feasibility and cost-effectiveness. This will create a strong foundation for political strategies and private investment. The latter should ultimately help to achieve a lasting reduction of food loss and supply more people in the region with food.
When presented in Nairobi at the Food Processing & Packaging Exposyum from November 26–28, 2103, the findings will form an important part of the event at which companies from the packaging and processing industry will present solutions tailored to Kenya’s needs. The Exposyum 2013 is organized by StarlingExpo in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf. The combined conference and exhibition is the first member of interpack’s international packaging family to be held in Africa.
The second study, which will be modeled after the Kenya project, is for India and will follow later in the year.
SAVE FOOD was opened to companies at the beginning of 2012. As sponsors, companies can finance specific projects, contribute their expertise, and network with the other participants.
A SAVE FOOD conference is planned for interpack 2014 (May 8–14, 2014, in Düsseldorf, Germany) and will target both nonprofit organizations and industry.
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