The food prepared on board the Costa cruise ships not served to the guests from now on will be distributed to the ones who need it the most. The Spanish organization “Banc dels Aliments” and Costa Cruises signed an agreement for the food surplus to be distributed, among different NGOs in Barcelona.
During the presentation ceremony, Stefania Lallai, Sustainability and P.R. Director of Costa Cruises explained: "At Costa, we understand that it is essential to recognize the value of food and today we can take a new step in the fight against food waste. In this sense and in accordance with the objectives set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we intend to halve the surplus food generated aboard our ships by 2020, ten years before the United Nations established. We are very grateful to “Banc dels Aliments” for making this possible in Barcelona, the most important port in the Mediterranean, and we are confident that this collaboration will be a success. "
Roser Brutau, president of Banc dels Aliments de Barcelona, explained: "We are very grateful to Costa Cruises for making this project a reality. This initiative brings a new impulse in the work that we have been carrying out for more than 30 years. A work that we carry out in a solitary and sustainable manner and that allows us to distribute food surpluses among multiple entities in the Barcelona region. "
The gastronomic proposal is a fundamental aspect in a cruise, in fact, Costa prepares about 54 million meals a year. In this context, the company wanted to take a fundamental step and recognize the value of food resources and develop a project to reduce food waste. With this program, Costa wanted to completely review all the processes of its catering service and reform them across their fleet, using an integrated system based on sustainability ensuring the proactive commitment of crew and passengers.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, almost a third of the food produced worldwide ends up in the garbage. This could mean the waste of 1.3 billion tons of food. Thus, 4GOODFOOD was born with the objective of reducing to 50% the food surpluses generated in Costa ships by 2020.
4GOODFOOD is a powerful program that takes into account every aspect of the preparation and consumption of food on board. As a starting point, Costa began with the review of all the internal processes of making the dishes. Priority was given to sustainability and the selection of local and seasonal quality ingredients. Next, in collaboration with Winnow, specialists in process optimization in professional kitchens, CostaIt has included new scales in all its kitchens and has made a register with the objective of mapping, quantifying and analyzing the waste generated during the processing and preparation of food. To carry it out successfully, the training of almost 2,400 kitchen employees who have been trained on how to reduce waste and apply sustainable processes has been key.
The company has also developed an awareness campaign on board named “Taste don't Waste”, which directly involves passengers to encourage responsible behavior, especially in the buffet area. After almost a year since it was first implemented aboard the Costa ships, the results obtained are in line with what the company expects.
Costa Cruises, recognizing the success of this program, is aware that there is still a certain part of the food prepared on board that is not served to the guests. In this sense, the company wanted to develop, as part of 4GOODFOOD, collaborations with different food banks in the ports where it operates in the Mediterranean. Thus, after Savona, Civitavecchia, Marseille, Bari and Palermo, Costa presents, together with Banc dels Aliments, the arrival of this donation project to Barcelona, one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean.
