According to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, around eleven million tons of food became waste in 2020. If you now look at the food chain, seven percent of food waste is generated in retail.
perfectionism in the food industry
According to a market check by the NRW consumer advice center, the price of food has risen by 17.2 percent since April 2022. Despite this enormous rate of inflation, many foods are sorted out. This is often due to cosmetic or production defects, such as a cucumber that is too crooked or a mistake on the product packaging. But exceeding the best-before date can also mean that food is no longer sold in the markets. They no longer conform to the norm. In order to counteract this waste of resources, some online shops have made it their task to offer discarded groceries. In this way, anyone can help to make the future more sustainable and save a lot of money in the process.
Veggie specials
This online shop offers vegan and organic products that just don’t meet the norm. Some have blemishes or a shortened sell-by date or are not in the ideal weight range. But even foods with damaged or faulty labels are simply used under the private label name. Veggie Specials obtains the products through cooperations, for example with Taifun. It is possible to test your way through the products with a randomly assembled box. Of course, individual products can also be selected from the large range.
Sirplus
Non-standard foods are also sold at Sirplus. The special feature, however, is that the more than 940 panels in Germany have priority. Also identical: Individual foods can be selected or ready-made boxes can be purchased.
Etepetete
Etepetete provides boxes of organic fruit and vegetables that would not be sold in the supermarket due to the standards in force. Although a perfect zucchini tastes the same as a slightly oversized one. But they also offer other products that can be salvaged. On their website, Etepetete lists exactly which farmers the products come from.
motatos
Products that correspond to the classes conventional, organic and vegetarian up to vegan can be purchased here. This online shop works like any other, individual products can be selected from categories. However, there is one problem, especially when compared to Etepetete: the origin of the products is not communicated transparently. Under the “For Suppliers” tab, a small number of brands, e.g Katjes, shown. The remaining “more than 100 other partners” are not defined more precisely.
leftovers knight
The online shop ResteRitter follows a slightly different concept, as it uses fruit and vegetables from shops or private allotments. Chutneys, fruit spreads or pickles are made from the food obtained. On a positive note, with every glass, a donation is made to the Mittagskinder foundation to enable disadvantaged children in Hamburg to have a warm lunch.
Ultimately, these online shops represent a step in the right direction because, as the Lebensmittelverband Deutschland eV already put it: “Sustainability is a challenge for society as a whole”.
Editorial office finanzen.net