Speedo Foods - Food Loss + Waste

With an emphasis on quality products and excellent service, Speedo Foods & Flavours Inc. (Speedo) delivers
exciting flavour designs to the baking industry. During their expansion to a new production facility, Speedo felt that it was the right time to find ways to reduce food waste costs and their associated solid waste disposal
fees. They partnered with Provision Coalition and Enviro Stewards to assist in delivering an onsite Food Loss + Waste (FLW) assessment that leveraged Provision’s online (FLW) Toolkit.

Key Findings 

•  An opportunity to reduce 11,489 kg of food loss + waste valued at $18,569 per year with a payback of less than two years. This includes the value of environmental resource reductions,
  ingredient costs, as well as inputs at processing.
• Potential annual savings of 300 kWh of electricity, 442 m3 of natural gas, 16 m3 of water, and 16 tonnes of CO2e.

Food Loss + Waste Assessment Process 

Following the methods used in the FLW Toolkit, the food waste assessment began with a full tour of the new processing plant and former fillings facility, from receiving ingredients to final
product packaging. The quantity and value of food waste was then determined for each of the production processes followed by a “5 Why” approach to identify root causes of each waste. Possible
solutions for each food waste stream were considered, and an implementation plan was developed for selected measures. The business case for each solution was then presented to Speedo.

Food Loss + Waste Reduction & Conservation Opportunities

The utilization of Provision’s FLW toolkit coupled with the facility assessment identified four opportunities, totaling 11,489 kg of ingredients annually, which are currently being diverted to landfill
or discharged to sanitary sewers. In addition to saving the raw ingredient costs, addressing these issues would reduce the amount of BOD sewage charge fees, and improve product quality control, health & safety and environmental impact.

Within the facility, opportunities identified included: 

Opportunity 1 | $14,515

Kettle & Line Rinse Recovery 

In between batches, the kettle and transfer lines are rinsed with water and sent down the drain to maintain quality standards. Capturing the rinse water and using it in the next compatible
batch would recover 70% of this product, totaling 8,981 kg, valued at $14,515, with a payback period of 2.5 months. The annual environmental savings would be 346 m3 of natural gas, 234 kWh
of electricity, 14 tonnes of CO2e, and 13 m3 of water.

Opportunity 2 | $2,074

Install More Efficient Spray Balls In Kettle 

The spray balls in the kettle help to remove product from the sides and reduce waste, but are not using the latest technology. Replacing the existing spray balls with more efficient, rotary spray heads would reduce product loss by 10%, totaling 1,283 kg of product annually, valued at $2,074, with a payback
period of 10 months. The annual environmental savings would be 49 m3 of natural gas, 33 kWh of electricity, 2 tonnes of CO2e, and 2 m3 of water.

Opportunity 3 | $7,345

Installing a pigging system is an alternative solution to the issue of product loss during the
rinsing process. A pigging system would have a greater impact than recovering the kettle and
line rinse, but at a greater capital cost. It could potentially recover 90% of product remaining in
the transfer lines, equivalent to 4,545 kg or $7,345. This solution would enable tracking of product
movements, sequencing of similar SKU’s and also improves the Clean-in-Place (CIP) process.

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Canada’s Food Waste Problem

In Canada, 43% of avoidable food waste occurs in processing and manufacturing, presenting enormous opportunity for manufacturers to take action to positively impact the environment—and their bottom line. Avoidable waste costs approximately $49.5 billion each year, reduces the supply of food available to eat and contributes to climate change through methane emissions in landfill.

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Thank you to our project partners: