Cosmetic Filtering

As mentioned previously, food items could be thrown away due to compromises to its freshness and quality. However, there are times whereby food items are thrown away for purely aesthetic reasons, i.e. when the still-edible food looks “ugly”, damaged or less than perfect according to market or personal standards, a process also termed as cosmetic filtering. This can occur in every stage of the production/consumption process – from farms to wholesale and wet markets to supermarkets, restaurants or even in homes.

As part of their final-year project from 2009-2010 titled “Food Waste Republic”, three journalism students from the Nanyang Technological University managed to shed some light on the problem of food waste in Singapore despite the difficulty in obtaining such data in the country. The trio visited the Pasir Panjang wholesale market and discovered that the 250 vegetable sellers at the market spend hours before dawn trimming, preening and discarding ‘ugly’ vegetables daily, in preparation for sale to hawkers and wet market sellers.

Stall owner Albert Li, 60, who estimates that about a third of all vegetables at the wholesale market is thrown away due to cosmetic filtering, is quoted saying, “Of course I’ve to make my vegetables look nice. If not, who will buy them?”

“Based on our observations at food waste recycling company IUT Global, the market discards up to 30,000 kilos of unwanted vegetable parts and blemished fruits every day.” – The Era of Supermarkets, Food Waste Republic

Yet, the issue does not end there.

Fresh produce that shows the slightest defects or is deemed unsellable by supermarket staff is also thrown away – fruits and vegetables form the bulk of this food waste due to their perishable nature.

The divisional manager of consumer goods at Carrefour, Danny Ang, 45, “estimates that the hypermarket loses about $12,000 worth of fresh produce and dry groceries (canned, bottled and pre-packed) every month,” while cosmetic filtering constitutes 10 to 15 per cent of the total fresh produce at Sheng Siong, according to the managing director Lim Hock Chee, 50.