No to food waste

Food waste is a global problem that is also widespread here in Switzerland, where around 2.8 million tonnes of food end up as waste every year, which is equivalent to around 330 kilograms per person per year. This alone is reason enough to focus on this issue at the Roche sites in Switzerland too, which are home to staff restaurants, cafeterias and catering services. "We've been thinking for a long time now about how to avoid food waste," says Ludmilla Kelsch, Support Quality Management & Controlling at Tavero AG, the caterer at the Roche site in Basel/Kaiseraugst.

Various measures have therefore already been initiated to counteract avoidable food losses.

• Fewer pre-prepared dishes thanks to just-in-time production: Only a small number of dishes are pre-prepared per day. During lunch, we count which dishes are most popular on that particular day. The kitchens of the staff restaurants are designed so that popular dishes can be reproduced within minutes.

• Discounted food:

  • If too many lunch dishes have been produced, the chefs in Rotkreuz will create new dishes from them, which can be purchased by employees daily from 1.30 pm at a reduced price.

  • At the Basel/Kaiseraugst and Rotkreuz sites, employees have the chance to buy unsold salads, sandwiches or baked goods at a reduced price half an hour before closing.

• Collaboration with the Schweizer Tafel, the Swiss foodbank service: The Schweizer Tafel picks up any leftover food from the Basel/Kaiseraugst site which could not be sold either during the day or via the Food Saver App.

• One food saver per week: Every week, one employee is the designated "food saver". They are then tasked with identifying food at the end of lunch in the staff restaurants that can be reused for dishes or the buffet the next day.

• Filters to reduce edible oil waste: Using special filter pads in the deep fryers saves at least 50 litres of oil every month.

• Regular awareness campaigns: The issue of food waste affects everyone - including consumers. Regular inhouse awareness campaigns draw attention to the problem of food waste, to raise awareness amongst staff and to show them what they can do to stop it.