Earlier this month, Smithfield Foods Inc., a multi-billion-dollar pork producer and food-processing company, announced it would seek to halve overall food loss and waste in its U.S. company-owned operations by 2030. The commitment is in line with the its other resource conservation and waste-reduction initiatives, including efforts announced in 2019 to reduce overall waste sent to landfills by 75% and achieve zero-waste-to-landfill certification at three-quarters of its U.S. facilities by 2025.

The world’s biggest pork producer is on the roster of private businesses and organizations that have joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions initiative. Current Champions include Amazon.com Inc., Aramark Corp., Campbell Soup Co., Hilton, Kroger Co., PepsiCo Inc., Unilever PLC, Walmart Inc., Walt Disney World Resort, Wegmans Food Markets and many others.

Waste in the Supply Chain

The problem is one of the great environmental challenges that often seems to be hiding in plain sight. A report by commercial waste management services provider RTS Waste Services LLC, “Food Waste in America in 2022,” found that spoilage, whether real or perceived, is one of the biggest reasons people throw out food. More than 80% of Americans discard consumable food because they misunderstand expiration labels. However, there is also a huge opportunity in tightening up the food supply chain in order to minimize spoilage and waste.

Smithfield says some type of loss occurs at every stage of the food production and supply chain process. Between the farm gate and retail stages, food loss can occur from issues arising during the drying, milling, transportation or processing stages. At the retail level, equipment malfunction, over-ordering and culling of blemished products can result in food loss, too. Consumers also contribute to food loss when they buy or cook more than they need and choose to throw the extras away.

Smithfield Foods believes improved supply chain management has a real role to play in reducing food waste — both inbound from food processing plants and outbound to retailers and wholesale destinations.

“Supply chain management is very important to reducing food waste,” says John Meyer, senior director of environmental affairs for Smithfield Foods. All perishable food products have expiration dates and need to get to the grocery store with ample time to purchase and consume prior to the expiration date. Meyer says that, alongside Smithfield’s ambitions to halve overall food loss and waste in its U.S. manufacturing facilities and distribution centers by 2030, the company also takes pride in upholding comprehensive food safety and quality procedures across every facet of its vertically integrated business. “This ensures we are continuing to deliver high-quality products while also pursuing opportunities to reduce waste,” he says.

More Efficient Distribution

From a distribution point of view, reducing food waste is a natural by-product of aiming for maximal operational efficiency, says Jordan Lashmett, Smithfield’s vice president of distribution.  

Smithfield’s distribution network is composed of six core facilities placed strategically throughout the U.S. to support the regional needs. “Our focus is on minimizing mileage on customer freight while maximizing our own internal shipments from plant to distribution center,” Lashmett says.

Smithfield takes care of inbound and outbound shipping with a complex mix of its own dedicated fleet, partnerships with contracted carriers, and brokered freight services as needed. “We leverage the latest technology for inventory management and order accuracy to minimize the risk of generating waste,” Lashmett explains. “Systemic issues or operational failures at distribution centers, and hiccups or inefficiencies in transportation networks, are examples of ways inefficient distribution can result in food waste.” The company deploys cutting-edge software to support forecasting, manufacturing and customer ordering, creating visibility for its supply chain team and ultimately, again, avoiding waste.

Part of Smithfield’s strategy to reduce food waste is in its philanthropic activities. “Smithfield works closely with numerous organizations through our sales and order management processes to generate systemic visibility for aged products that have the ability to be safely donated,” Lashmett says. “As a food company, fighting food insecurity is one of Smithfield’s signature philanthropic causes, and we have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to our communities across the United States since 2008.”

Additionally, Smithfield has accepted an invitation to join the 10x20x30 initiative, which brings together more than 10 of the world's largest food retailers and providers to engage at least 20 suppliers to halve food loss and waste by 2030. The company is also a member of the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, an initiative by Vanguard Renewables, Unilever, Starbucks Corp. and Dairy Farmers of America that aims to avoid or eliminate food waste first, then repurpose what can't be eliminated into renewable energy via farm-based anaerobic digesters.