ABC RURAL: Waste-busting businesses find ways to save surplus Australian fruit from being dumped
ABC RURAL ARTICLE EXCERPT
Sick of seeing delicious berries being dumped for failing to meet supermarket specifications, Allison and Stuart McGruddy took the plunge.
They became part of the solution for the 7.6 million tonnes of food wasted in Australia every year at an estimated cost of $36.6 billion.
According to United Nations reports, if food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China; up to 10 per cent of global greenhouse gases come from fruit that is produced, but not eaten.
On a mission to find a home for every berry produced on their family's farm, the McGruddy's founded My Berries in 2013.
Their business has grown as they sourced surplus seasonal fruit from other farmers, added freeze-dried snacking fruits to their range and invested in upgrading and streamlining production.
My Berries won the advanced manufacturing excellence category of the Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards last weekend.
"We always set out to lobby Australian manufacturers to say, 'well let's say no to imports, let's use what's growing in our own backyard'," Ms McGruddy said.
"And now we're trying to keep up with demand for them."
Freeze-drying technology has allowed the couple to preserve the vitamins and antioxidants of fruit fresh from the farm, intensifying their flavour for a snack that can be stored at room temperature.
"They're minimising seasonal food wastage on farms," Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery said.
"Rather than throwing away perfectly good fruits that the major supermarkets were rejecting on the basis of looks not flavour, My Berries is instead turning them into a crunchy nutritious bite-size snack."
Upgrades to the family's Caboolture facility have included a machine to cut the tops, or calyxes, off strawberries, and new automation to fill bags, quickly, cleanly and efficiently.
Mr McGruddy is on the last leg of an international trip after being awarded a Churchill Fellowship to build on the knowledge, experience and technology used in the freezing of whole soft berry fruits.
"The cost of labour is just growing and growing and growing and we need to be competitive," Mr McGruddy said.
"We really need to embrace the age of technology and automation to get efficiencies."