UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Rows of perfect, unblemished fruits and vegetables can be enticing at the grocery store, but researchers at Penn State said they are hoping to convince consumers to love less attractive, imperfect foods — and boost food security in the process.
A $647,421 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will fund a new project, led by Penn State researchers and in collaboration with Arizona State University, that aims to reduce food waste by finding opportunities for foods that were previously considered undesirable — like bruised or misshapen produce — to enter grocery stores and other sectors of the market across the United States.
In turn, less food waste could lead to better food security across the globe and a lower carbon footprint for food systems, according to the researchers.
Martina Vecchi, assistant professor of agricultural economics in the College of Agricultural Sciences and principal investigator on the project, said that unlike previous studies that focused solely on the consumer, the new initiative will analyze the entire U.S. value chain, including growers and farmers, input suppliers, distributors and retailers.
“Approximately 20% of discarded food is wasted for cosmetic reasons, like being too misshapen, missized or blemished to sell,” Vecchi said. “The ultimate goal of this project is to inform management practices and policy interventions that simultaneously increase the social acceptance of imperfect produce while aiding in its production.”
To do this, the researchers will both analyze what motivates suppliers to produce and sell imperfect foods, as well as what convinces consumers to accept and purchase more imperfect foods.
The researchers will begin by interviewing key members of the imperfect foods value chain, with the goal of gaining insight and feedback about opportunities, challenges and best practices for offering imperfect foods to consumers, as well as potential channels for sourcing and selling these foods. They will also interview stakeholders in the produce industry to learn more about current industry practices.
Next, the team will survey consumers to evaluate their willingness to pay for fresh and processed imperfect foods, including how their decisions are driven by information on the potential social benefits of imperfect produce. The findings will help the researchers understand how different information, as well as product appearance, affect how consumers value imperfect foods.
The project will culminate with using the information gathered to develop and deliver outreach materials for value chain participants, as well as disseminating project results to industry stakeholders and academic audiences.
“Findings from this work will help policymakers and others interested in expanding programs focused on saving imperfect foods from the landfill to better understand what limits and what fosters rescuing these foods,” Vecchi said. “It will also provide those in the imperfect food value chain with rigorous, empirical research into the fundamental factors that drive successes and failures in the expansion of sustainable production practices.”