“Cutting food waste is the single-most effective thing people can do to address climate change,” says Turner Wyatt, CEO and Co-Founder of the Upcycled Food Association (UFA), in the nonprofit’s press release.
“Thanks to the roll-out of this set of clear, uniform standards and protocols, reducing food waste becomes much easier,” adds Wyatt, highlighting the fact that, “It's an innovative approach because it's the first consumer product-based solution, making it highly scalable and economically sustainable.”
“Finally,” he says, “companies can help mitigate food waste by participating in a straightforward, powerful program that turns food waste into new products and ingredients.”
Beauty ingredients and products made with upcycled food eligible for UPA certification
The Upcycled Food Association is a nonprofit trade association established in 2019. The UPA exists to create a viable economy for upcycled food (food waste and food ingredient waste). The organization is “leveraging market forces to prevent food waste by coordinating hundreds of companies around the world and empowering millions of consumers to prevent climate change with the products they buy,” according to upcycledfood.org.
The association uses research, networking, and policy advocacy to advance its mission and further develop an upcycled food economy.
The new Upcycled Certified program involves a series of steps and on achieved requires ongoing compliance and annual renewal. The process begins with an online application and from there the third-party verification company Where Food Comes From steps in to coordinate with the applicant.
“Our selection as the exclusive certifier for the Upcycled program puts Where Food Comes From at the forefront of an important new sustainability movement in the US today,” said Leann Saunders, President of Where Food Comes From, in her remarks to the press when the company’s partnership with the UFA was announced in February.
“We are excited,” she added, “to work with the Upcycled Foods Association and the many growers, processors and products companies who have committed to reducing food waste by employing transparent and sustainable production processes.”
The UPA sees opportunity and value for ingredient and finished products across industry sectors to be certified through their new program and welcomes applicants from food and beverage, supplements, household cleansers, and pet food as well as from the cosmetics and personal care industries.
More information on the UPA’s certification and a link to apply can be found online here.
