Understanding Food Loss and Waste in the Onion Growing Industry in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Sustainable growth and improving the profitability of onion growers and exporters is Onions New Zealand’s vision. Alongside marketable product, minimizing and converting onion industry loss and waste products into a useable form is one piece of work requiring further exploration. My project involved a series of interviews with growers and processors to discuss the amount of waste generated in the industry, and to try and quantify the opportunity from turning this into product of value. Join me to hear about the some of the work being done with growers and processors to understand the size of the opportunity and to help Onions New Zealand’s achieve this vision for this sector. Supervised by: Professor Miranda Mirosa and Trixie Croad, Food Waste Innovation Otago Scholarship funded by: Onions NZ