Index
11 April 2011
Food research wins Premier's support
The Victorian Premier, Ted Baillieu, has launched an RMIT University student's research into the use of fresh food that would otherwise go to landfill.
Professor Neil Mann (Head of Food Science), Premier Ted Baillieu, research student Rebecca Lindberg, and research supervisors Dr Anne Sibbel and John Glass.
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The launch, organised at the Prahran Mission by the not-for-profit SecondBite group, was attended by representatives of government and non-government organisations involved in supporting needy Victorians.
Food Science student Rebecca Lindberg's project explored Secondbite's processes and outcomes for food "rescue" and distribution.
Mr Baillieu commended Ms Lindberg and the RMIT Food Science team, including her supervisor, food sustainability expert, Dr Anne Sibbel.
"Congratulations on the research, and to Rebecca: well done, and I'm sure Rebecca will go on and do much more in the near future.
"I don't know how you officially launch a research project, but I've got to say, this is a pretty impressive turn-up of people to honour your research and to honour SecondBite."
Rescuing fresh food was an important and ground-breaking development, he said, reducing food wastage and improving the nutritional health of less fortunate Victorians.
The launch was told that more than a tonne of fresh, surplus Atlantic salmon was provided by Grand Prix caterers to SecondBite, which distributed it through its networks to many hundreds of Melbourne families within a day.
Ms Lindberg's work investigated the social and nutritional significance of including fresh rescued food in meals offered to disadvantaged people.
She looked at the logistics of locating and collecting some of the tonnes of fresh food sent to landfill daily throughout Victoria.
She found that supplying rescued fresh food led to the increased consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, important sources of nutrients which are typically missing in the diets of homeless and other socio-economically disadvantaged people.
These food supplies also reduced costs and extended the scope for charitable organisations to provide these services.
Recommendations were made to consolidate and develop supply chain networks to reach more clients, contributing further to improving the quality of their diets and reducing the environmental impact of food waste disposal.
