Final year students from the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Department of Consumer and Food Sciences recently showcased their ability to transform rescued food ingredients into high-quality retail and restaurant products during the second UP-Cycled Food Experience waste wonder event.
During the evening, attendees enjoyed an immersive retail and fine dining experience. This event served as both a practical exam and an exhibition, highlighting the potential of academic research and innovation to create valuable food products from rescued foods, thus benefitting communities.
South Africa contributes 10 million tonnes to the 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted globally each year. “Impact is a fundamental value at UP,” said Dr Nadene Marx-Pienaar, a senior lecturer in the department.
“In alignment with this, we sought to move beyond the conventional written exam by offering students the chance to showcase their skills to industry leaders, demonstrating their ability to shape the future and promote a more sustainable food system.”
Nutrition and health lecturer Dr Adeline Pretorius explained that the initiative began last year with the first UP-Cycled Food Experience, when Marx-Pienaar, whose research focuses on food waste, was approached by the NGO SA Harvest with the idea of finding innovative solutions to tackle this issue and address food insecurity.
“We brought together students from food retail management, hospitality management, and culinary science to develop retail products and a menu using rescued ingredients,” PhD candidate Nadine du Piesanie added.
Bachelor of Consumer Science students Lerato Maine and Kayla Bishop expressed their pride in being young scientists at the forefront of innovation aimed at addressing the global food waste crisis.
They highlighted the stark contrast between the millions of tonnes of food wasted worldwide and the fact that many still go to bed hungry due to poverty and social challenges. They also pointed out that South Africa’s food retail industry alone produces about 1.4 million tonnes of food waste annually.
About 19% occurs during post-harvest handling and storage, 49% during processing and packaging, and 32% at consumer level. In the hospitality industry, 65% of food is wasted each year, mainly due to overproduction, poor planning, improper storage, staff knowledge gaps, and guest waste.
Culinary Arts lecturer Dr Hennie Fisher taught students advanced food preparation, plating skills, and how to merge science with culinary art, while Marx-Pienaar trained food retail management students on consumer behaviour, visual merchandising principles, and food retail strategies.
Behind the scenes, Pretorius guided students in recruiting and managing support staff, while Du Piesanie honed their event management skills. “As a group of lecturers, we take great pride in our students and their remarkable creativity and commitment to using their knowledge to address real-world challenges,”
Marx-Pienaar said. Fisher, meanwhile, added that their ability to transform food waste into high-quality dishes demonstrates not only their culinary skills but also their commitment to making a positive impact.
Included in the menu was the main course, which was served in a tin to encourage guests to think about where unused ingredients could end up if changes are not made. Inside each of the tins, which were salvaged from local recyclers, was a beef ragu made of meat sourced from sausage and patty production and flavoured with leftover wine.
The dessert featured coffee ice cream made from cauliflower and used coffee grounds, with a chocolate mousse insert. This was served on a vanilla cake made from cake off-cuts.
Pretoria News