The third annual SAVE FOOD Congress is scheduled for May 4 during the interpack 2017 conference in Düsseldorf, Germany. Focused on pursuing a multi-dimensional approach to fighting food loss and waste, the event will feature speakers from political, food, packaging, retail, and research backgrounds. The SAVE FOOD Initiative is a collaboration of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Environmental Program, and Messe Düsseldorf.

Werner Matthias Dornscheidt, president and chief executive officer of Messe Düsseldorf, and Kostas G. Stamoulis, deputy director general of the economic and social development department of the FAO, will deliver the opening speeches.  Mr. Stamoulis will address the challenges of global nutrition in the 21st century. Afterward, he and Mr. Dornscheidt will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to further collaboration of the FAO and Messe Düsseldorf as key partners of the SAVE FOOD Initiative.

Klaus Heider, Ph.D., head of the nutrition policy, product safety, and innovation department in the German Ministry for Nutrition and Agriculture, will then introduce the campaign “Too Good for the Bin.” The keynote speech of the conference will be given by Vytenis Andriukaitis, the European Union commissioner responsible for food security in Europe.

Gargi Kaul, joint secretary and financial adviser in the Indian Ministry of Food Processing Industries, will shift the focus to the Indian subcontinent, sharing about changes affecting food waste in her country. Robert van Otterdijk, agro-industry officer in the Nutrition and Food Systems Division at the FAO, will then present the results of a field study conducted in India funded by the SAVE FOOD Initiative.

Later in the day, Marc Zander, CEO of africon GmbH and Tei Mukunya, CEO of Azuri Health Ltd., will report on the status of the mango project launched by the SAVE FOOD Initiative in Kenya. Christian Traumann, managing director and chief financial officer at MULTIVAC, will then look at the role of innovative packaging concepts for avoiding food loss across the supply chain and on the part of consumers.

In the second session of the Congress, the speakers will look at food waste and loss in a global context as well as in industry and retail. Prajal Pradhan, Ph.D., from the Research Area Climate Impact and Vulnerability department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, will highlight the effects of food waste and loss on the global climate. Vinita Bali, chairman of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, will talk about global future issues and Gerald Rebitzer, sustainability director at Amcor Flexibles, will present the special involvement of his company. Johannes Bergmair of the World Packaging Organisation will describe the correlation between packaging design and SAVE FOOD.

The SAVE FOOD School Awards will be presented by Burkhard Hintzsche, city director of Düsseldorf and Werner M.Dornscheidt. Afterwards, the FAO will present its concept for optimizing school cafeterias.

During interpack 2017 visitors will be able to find concrete solutions to food waste problems at the innovationparc. Some 20 companies will display their ideas on about 27,000 square feet in a marquee between Halls two and three.