XIAMEN, CHINA — Animal nutrition was a pertinent topic at the second annual International Forum of Prevention, Reduction and Utilization of Food Waste (IFPRUFW), which was held Dec. 3 to 4 in Xiamen. The forum showcased global progress in the reutilization of food waste, with various universities sharing the latest technologies and innovations in processing a variety of co-products from meat, bakery, brewery dairy and other industries into high-quality animal food ingredients.
The IFPRUFW was first launched by the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Trade Office (USDA-ATO) in Guangzhou. This year’s forum in Xiamen sought to continue to lead discussions in food waste within south China. The reduction and reutilization of food waste is a top priority for the United States and China, with the local government in Xiamen working to identify more sustainable solutions.
According to the IFPRUFW, the forum is the only event that provides a comprehensive discussion on food waste reduction and reutilization, technologies and management practices in Asia. More than 1,200 professionals attended the forum in-person and online, spanning food loss and waste collection and handling, restaurant and food market supply service, animal feed and pet food.
JonAnn Flemings, director of USDA-ATO in Guangzhou, kicked-off the forum with an overview of the numerous environmental issues related to food loss and waste throughout the United States and worldwide. Proper reutilization of food waste could help mitigate environmental impacts, increase economic revenue and reduce poverty, Flemings shared. In addition, Jean Buzby, liaison of food loss and waste at the USDA, detailed the USDA’s efforts to address food loss and waste, including program funding, research, outreach and regulatory guidance.
Several industry leaders and researchers took the stage to discuss various ways food waste could be used in animal nutrition, including:
- Qingping Liu, director of sales in Asia of IIC, shared some food co-products that could be used as valuable ingredients to create circular feed for livestock and pets
- Larissa Alves Koulicoff, research assistant of the Pet Food Program at Kansas State University (KSU), introduced how sustainability could be applied in pet food ingredient sourcing and also presented KSU’s studies on using dried bakery products in pet food
- Jennifer Adolphe, pet technical manager at ADM, and Sean Madison, director of global pet food and North America at Innovafeed, talked about how ADM and Innovafeed are creating an innovative insect husbandry system by using ADM’s agricultural byproducts to feed black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), and converting the insects into animal nutrition ingredients
Additionally, presentations by Tyson Ingredient Solutions, Darling Ingredients and APC highlighted the rendering industry’s key role in reusing food waste. Deemed the original upcyclers, renderers reprocess byproducts from meat packers, poultry processors and others to develop ingredients for animal feed and pet food, as well as feedstock for biofuels and oleochemicals.
The third IFPRUFW is expected to be held in Hainan, China, in 2025.
Read more about pet food and treat industry events.
