"Too big, too small, it lacks a bit of color, it has an unusual shape, it is deformed..." Nowadays, all of this leads to a fruit being sorted as second-rate, and this is also where Imperfectas® aims to provide value. This Almeria-based initiative seeks to provide solutions so that the sorting of vegetables doesn't have to depend on their physical appearance.
José Antonio Sánchez.
Currently, market standards are forcing us to discard products due to mere aesthetic reasons and, "if you think about it, when you are going to eat a vegetable, who cares if it looks a little crooked or a little scratched? The product has the same flavor and nutrients; it tastes just as good. And the growers has used the same resources to produce it," explains José Antonio Sánchez, promoter of this initiative.
And the fact is that "the world is changing, and so is the agricultural model we know, even though many professionals in the sector are not in favor of this kind of imperfect products. However, with this initiative we want to show them that it is possible to comply with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, with the Food Waste Bill, because this is, in short, one of the biggest global problems," says Sánchez.
A clarifying comparison: "If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases." According to a FAO report published in 2019, "a third of the total food produced is lost or wasted annually." This generates annual emissions equivalent to those caused by road transport worldwide. In the European Union, it is estimated that 20% of the total food produced is discarded or wasted (Fusions, 2016), while 55 million people cannot afford the price of a quality meal every two days.
"We want to raise awareness about zero waste in the field and all other stages, from harvesting until the product becomes fresh-cut or pre-prepared convenience food. We are already working with our partners on innovative projects for the coming years, transforming imperfect vegetables that couldn't be sold in the fresh market into other processed products."
Imperfectas states that the box contains fruit and vegetables that have been selected without regard to their physical appearance. Any marketer or agricultural cooperative can apply to use the trademark and the necessary packaging adapted to their products, since a well-known trademark facilitates the introduction of new products with less marketing effort, and this is all backed by advertising and marketing.
For more information:
Imperfectas
Tel.: +34 667 430 134
www.imperfectas.org