Ugly Fruit

When it comes to the fruit use in many Kellogg products, beauty is more than skin deep.

Few things are more appetizing than a shiny apple, or a beautiful strawberry. But what if a piece of fruit has a small blemish or is a funny shape?

These so-called “ugly fruits” might not make anyone’s Instagram page, but they still can be every bit as wholesome and delicious. So, rather than going to waste, these not-quite-perfect apples, strawberries and other fruits are used in the fruit filling of several Kellogg’s foods, including Nutri-Grain bars and Pop-Tarts.

“Using imperfect fruit is just one of the ways Kellogg reduces food waste as we improve the sustainability of our foods,” said Mary Tate, senior manager of Responsible Sourcing for Kellogg Company. “We are committed to reducing waste across the life of our products, from the field to the consumer’s pantry.”

According to the World Food Programme, the world produces enough food for everyone, yet almost 800 million people go hungry. And the Food Aid Foundation estimates that one-third of all food is wasted. Reducing food waste – and more efficiently feeding people with the food we already produce – will play a big part in fighting world hunger.

Kellogg Company joined other organizations around the world to support United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 12.3. In support of this commitment, by 2030, we are doing our part to cut per capita global food waste in half at the retail and consumer level, and to reduce food losses along the entire food production system.

“Everyone wins when we reduce food waste,” said Tate. “More people get fed, we use less natural resources, and famers, companies and households all save money.”

Specific steps that Kellogg is taking to reduce food waste include:

Helping farmers around the world – especially small farms – reduce food loss by providing training on improved agricultural practices and post-harvest storage technology.
In our plants and bakeries, we focus on reducing total waste, ensuring re-use, recycling and other approaches to avoid sending waste to landfill.
On our packages in the U.S., we are in the process of standardizing the date labels on our U.S. food packages to “BEST if used by,” helping to reduce food waste and giving people details to make more informed decisions. Resealable packaging also helps reduce food loss and waste. In the U.S., our Kashi®, Keebler®, Special K® and MorningStar Farms® brands use resealable packaging, and in many countries our cereals are packaged in resealable pouches.