Resilience Fund project to support project 79323 in reducing food waste, mitigating Covid-19 disruption

新冠肺炎颠覆了全球食品行业，联合国警告称，世界正面临半个世纪以来最严重的粮食危机。食物浪费专家凯文·奎格利警告说，英国现在可能无法实现到2030年将食物浪费减半的可持续发展目标。在全球范围内，三分之一的食品被浪费(粮农组织，2015)，其中70%的食品仍然可以安全消费(WRAP，2021)。一个主要问题是令人困惑和过于谨慎的保质期，导致完全可以食用的食物被扔掉。欧洲超市的食物浪费可能高达15%(tandfonline.com)，其中80%归因于当前的保质期制度，英国家庭平均每年浪费价值700 GB的食物。根据戈丹公司执行董事安德烈·拉珀里尔的说法，新冠肺炎可能会导致发达经济体的食物浪费水平上升到生产、分配和消费的所有东西的40%。无数食品生产商和零售商承诺解决食品浪费问题，但新冠肺炎迫使他们考虑不同的运营方式。Mimica产品将使食品行业有信心管理库存水平和浪费，同时也给消费者购买新鲜食品的信心。我们的第一款产品Mimica Touch是一种专利标签或盖子，根据实际温度条件，当食物或饮料变质时，它会变得凹凸不平。它通过包含触觉的界面提供准确、实时的产品新鲜度指示。这种时间和温度响应可以根据不同的食品类型进行校准，以满足食品供应商的要求。该项目将通过我们的第一版(瓶盖)Mimica Touch支持Mimica在果汁饮料市场的商业生产和市场验证。这个市场的主要参与者提供了强有力的支持和参与，并表达了对这项技术的明确需求。这将确立其市场地位，提供负担得起、准确、包容和与循环经济兼容的产品，这是现有产品无法比拟的。同时，Mimica的技术团队将对一种新颖的通用平面标签设计进行早期研究，以获取更广泛的产品。我们的Mimica Touch解决方案将通过支持零售商和消费者，同时努力实现我们减少全球食物浪费的使命，为重建更可持续的经济做出贡献。

Covid-19 has disrupted the global food industry, with the UN warning that the world is facing the worst food crisis in half a century. Food waste expert, Kevin Quigley, has cautioned that the UK could now miss its Sustainable Development Goal of halving food waste by 2030\. Globally a third of food produced is wasted (FAO, 2015), with 70% of it still safe for consumption (WRAP, 2021). A major issue is confusing and overcautious expiry dates, leading to perfectly edible food being thrown away. Food waste at European supermarkets can be as high as 15% (tandfonline.com), with 80% attributed to the current expiry date system and the average family in the UK wastes £700 worth of food annually. According to Andre Laperriere, Executive Director of GODAN, Covid-19 may lead to levels of food waste in developed economies increasing to 40% of everything that is produced, distributed and consumed. Countless food producers and retailers have pledged to tackle food waste, but Covid-19 has forced them to look at different ways of operating. Mimica products will give the food industry the confidence to manage stock levels and wastage, whilst also giving consumers the confidence to purchase fresh foods. Our first product, Mimica Touch, is a patented label or cap that turns bumpy when food or drinks spoil, based on actual temperature conditions. It provides an accurate, real-time indication of the product's freshness with a tactile inclusive interface. This time & temperature response can be calibrated to different food types to suit food suppliers' requirements. This project will support Mimica's commercial production and market validation in the juice-based beverages market with our first version (bottle cap) of Mimica Touch. Lead players in this market have offered strong support and engagement, and have expressed a clear need for the technology. This will establish its market position with an offer that is affordable, accurate, inclusive and circular economy compatible, which existing offerings cannot match. Simultaneously, Mimica's technical team will conduct early research into a novel universal flat label design to capture a broader range of products. Our Mimica Touch solution will contribute to rebuilding a more sustainable economy by supporting retailers and consumers, whilst simultaneously striving to achieve our mission of reducing global food waste.