Whole Green Foods geared to tackle global food waste

How much food is wasted in Australia?

In Australia alone, wasted food costs the national economy around $36 billion each year. Up to a quarter of all vegetables grown never leave the farm, and the equivalent of the water in three Sydney Harbours is used to grow food that is thrown out.

Just how bad is our food waste problem?

Food waste isn’t just a national issue – it’s a global crisis. Every year, 1.3 billion tonnes of food go to waste, along with the water, energy, land, and labour used to produce it. As rising temperatures, water scarcity, land use competition, and soil degradation threaten the sustainability of food production, the true cost of food waste can be measured in not only economic, but environmental and social terms.

Why food waste matters:

Economic costs:

• Food waste costs the global economy over $1 trillion annually.
• Businesses lose billions due to inefficiencies in supply chains and overproduction.
• In Australia, food waste costs $36.6 billion each year, with the average household wasting $2,500 worth of food annually.

Environmental impact:

• Wasted food contributes to 8 – 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
  Decomposing food in landfills releases methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO₂.
• Critical resources like water, energy, and land are wasted, with 25% of water used in agriculture diverted to grow food that is ultimately wasted.

Social injustice:

• 343 million people in 74 countries are facing acute hunger, with 9 million people gripped by catastrophic hunger.
• In Australia, nearly 2 million households experience food insecurity, yet 6 million tonnes of food is wasted annually across the supply chain (equivalent to 312 kilograms of food per person.)
• Reducing food waste could help bridge the gap between food excess and food scarcity, improving global food equity.

With the goal of ending food waste – and its growing impact on human health and the environment – Whole Green Foods (Whole) has developed its proprietary WINX^TM technology, a zero waste, enhanced nutrient extraction technology for innovative ingredient and food manufacturers committed to better management of food waste.

WINX™ eliminates food waste while maximising nutrition, by creating whole food ingredients from traditional grains and pulses that are spoiled or do not meet market specifications, as well as from food waste generated in the ‘paddock to plate’ value chain.

The unique chemical-free processing solution enables cost-effective and large-scale production of plant-based food ingredients, using produce that would otherwise contribute to the world’s escalating food waste problem.

Whole has secured partnerships with A-list food manufacturers keen to improve how food waste is managed, including Sanitarium, MARS, Unigrain, and the south Korean food processor, CJ CheilJedang – alongside instrumental collaborations with the University of Western Australia (UWA), Curtin University, and the CSIRO.

“I find it staggering that a third of all food that’s produced and processed in the world is not consumed by humans. That’s just not sustainable,” said Nick Stamatiou, Co-Founder of Whole Green Foods based in Perth, Western Australia.

Processing the whole ingredient

“There’s plenty going on in the alternative protein space, but no-one is doing what Whole is doing, which is to preserve the nutrition and flavour in wasted or spoiled produce so that it can be used in the food ingredient and manufacturing process.”

Before incorporating Whole Green Foods in 2020, Nick and his co-founders, technology and food processing expert Cedric Cross and commercialisation and strategy advisor, Ivan Gustavino, spent three years designing, developing and de-risking the underlying technology.

“We take the cereal, legume or fruit or vegetable and reduce it to a small enough particle size that we can introduce it to our soaking tank, in a wet process where it’s typically mixed with water but sometimes oil or alcohol,” explained Nick.

“The magic happens in the final steps where we use ultra-high pressure to achieve cell bursting, which releases all the nutrition and flavour and reduces the particles down to around 20 microns. Then it can be used in anything from beverages to flavours and ingredients.”

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And the process is all input-agnostic, Nick explained, boasting a highly modular design and low-cost solution aimed at targeting major sources of food waste.

Cost savings through minimal inputs 

“That’s where much of the cost savings are derived. You can put literally anything through our ‘black box’ [the WINX^TM technology] so from a capital expenditure perspective you’ve got massive savings from the get-go because you’re only having to buy one machine,” explained Nick.

“We’re essentially a cold process. We don’t use heat which is typically where a lot of operational expenditure occurs, and there is no processing waste, so you don’t have the costs of disposal.”

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Another value proposition is that WINX^TM is essentially a preserving technology for its potential users, such as ingredient and food manufacturers and primary producers. The resulting ingredients are shelf-stable, removing the time pressure on growers around picking and selling produce within a short window of time.

Trials produce new flavours, ingredients

Whole’s business proposal is to license its technology to other businesses. In February 2022, the startup opened its first small-scale (700m2) research and development facility at UWA, in Mount Claremont, housing the WINX^TM prototype – with a production capacity of 15,000 litres per day – where customers are invited to try before they buy.

“At our nutrition lab, customers come with an idea for an application or a flavour, and our team work with them over a couple of weeks to prove the concept and to provide more predictive capability, so that’s the exciting stuff for us,” explained Nick.

“Simplot Australia has been doing some preliminary tests on broccoli stems, which have very good nutritional properties and could be blended into sauces or packaged meals.”

“And we can create flavours that no one has ever tried before. We had butternut pumpkin, pineapples and oranges that were going to waste so we threw it all in the machine, skins, pips and all, and what came out the other end you would swear was mango!”

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Increased demand for food waste solutions  

“In the last six months the discussions around food waste have definitely increased. There is generational change going on where young people are seeking out clean labels and supply chain transparency, and food manufacturers are very conscious of that,” said Nick.

Nick also sees demand coming from farmers who can benefit from being brought up the value chain through smart partnerships or even joint ventures that turn surplus or low-grade crops into value-added ingredients.

With pressure mounting across the supply chain – from farmers to manufacturers and consumers – there’s a growing need for practical food waste solutions. Companies like Whole can play a critical role in bridging the gaps, fostering the collaborations needed to drive a more sustainable, low-waste future.

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Questions you may have after reading:

What are the main causes of food waste?

• Overproduction: Growing or producing more food than the market demands to hedge against risks associated with poor yields, fluctuating prices, and changes in domestic or export market conditions. But excess food frequently goes unsold, discarded before ever reaching consumers.
• Storage issues: Improper storage conditions such as inadequate refrigeration, exposure to humidity, or pest infestations, cause food spoilage at farms, warehouses, and retail outlets. In developing regions, a lack of cold chain infrastructure exacerbates these losses.
• Supply chain inefficiencies: Food waste occurs at multiple points in the supply chain due to mechanical damage, improper handling, or logistical delays. Spoilage during transport, inefficiencies in processing, and distribution bottlenecks lead to unnecessary waste, especially for perishable items like fresh produce and dairy.
• Consumer habits: Households contribute heavily to food waste through over-purchasing, poor meal planning, and misunderstanding expiry labels. Many consumers throw away food that is still safe to eat, mistaking “best before” dates for “use by” dates. Leftovers also often go uneaten and end up in the bin.
• Retail practices: Supermarkets and grocery stores reject or discard food that doesn’t meet cosmetic standards – such as oddly shaped fruits and vegetables –despite there being no difference in nutritional quality. Overstocking shelves further increases waste, as unsold products are discarded.
• Catering and hospitality: Restaurants, hotels, and event venues generate food waste due to oversized portions, buffet-style service, and strict food safety regulations preventing the redistribution of unserved food. In the fast-food industry, pre-prepared meals often go unsold, and are thrown away at the end of the day.

Food Loss vs. Food Waste: What’s the difference?

Food loss occurs before food reaches consumers, typically during production, post-harvest handling, processing, and distribution. It results from issues like poor storage, transportation delays, equipment failure, and inefficient supply chains.

• Examples: Crops left unharvested, or rejected batches at the farm gate.

Food waste happens at the retail and consumer levels, when food that is fit for consumption is discarded. This includes supermarkets rejecting imperfect produce, restaurants over-catering to customer needs, and households throwing away edible food due to over-purchasing or misinterpreting expiry dates.

• Examples: Expired groceries, or food scraped off plates into bins at restaurants.

Both food loss and food waste contribute to global hunger, economic inefficiency, and environmental damage, making it crucial to address both issues for a more sustainable food system.

How does food waste impact the environment

Greenhouse gas emissions:

• Carbon dioxide emissions resulting from food waste make up half of the total emissions in the entire global food system.
• Food waste contributes to 8 – 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it a larger contributor to climate change than the entire aviation industry (at 2.5%)
• Decomposing food in landfills releases methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than CO₂ in trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Resource wastage:

• Every wasted food item represents wasted water, energy, land, and labour used in its production, processing, transportation, and storage. These resources are consumed even when the food is never eaten.
• 25% of water used in agriculture is diverted to grow food that is ultimately wasted.

Deforestation and habitat loss:

• Large areas of forests, grasslands, and wetlands are cleared to expand agricultural land, contributing to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem disruption. When food is wasted, so too is the land sacrificed to produce it.

Pollution:

• Food waste in landfill breaks down and releases liquid runoff rich in nutrients and organic matter, which can seep into soil and waterways, leading to water pollution, algal blooms, and ecosystem imbalances.
• Food waste can also lead to air pollution, especially where food manufacturing facilities and transport operations use fossil fuel energy.

Global food inequality:

• While millions of tonnes of food is wasted each year, 733 million people worldwide suffer from malnutrition.

Without bold investments, more than 950 million people could be at risk of severe food insecurity by 2030.

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