Where there's food waste, there are extra costs incurred. That also means lower profits and lower margins.

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Roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year - approximately 1.3 billion tonnes - gets lost or wasted. These losses and waste amount to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialised countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.

The research found that the average benefit-cost ratio for food waste reduction was 7:1 over a three-year time frame, meaning that approx. US$ 9 could be recovered for every US$ 1 that restaurants invested.

Controlling food waste is one of the biggest opportunities your restaurant has to increase profitability. As your food waste decreases, your restaurant’s profitability increases; it’s a win-win. Here are 4 easy ways to keep your food waste in check.

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Prevent Over-prepping Ingredients

It is common to see restaurants over-prepping ingredients to make sure that they have enough for a week’s worth. However, if you or your staff notice that you are throwing out pounds of leftover onions every other day, it’s a clear sign that your kitchen is prepping more than what it needs.

While it is understandable that some restaurant owners and managers would prefer to be over-prepared than under-prepared, stocking too much of a product leads to costly decisions and thin margins. This is why by creating better dining forecasts, your kitchen will be able to better predict busy shifts where they may need to stock up on specific ingredients or in the case of Covid-19 dining restrictions, forego ordering some special ingredients that week.

Adopting certain technology that tells you exactly when your busy shifts are and what people are ordering the most in those times is essential. A proper prepping forecast procedure can definitely ensure higher accuracy in knowing what is needed for the week and will save your restaurant money on food costs.

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Know What to Track

Understanding what and how to track is the next most important thing that all restaurateurs should be well equipped with. When it comes to food waste, you should be tracking how much you’re ordering as well as how much you have in stock.

Adopt digital technology that helps you to manage your ordering, manage your invoices so that you will always be on top of your expenses. This should be followed by finding the right POS that has the ability to track your inventory. Invoice management platforms like FoodRazor and inventory management platforms give you accurate insights to properly calculate your food cost percentage, reduce over-portioning, over-buying, wastage and theft.

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