• SWIFT-CARE is one of the centre’s internal initiatives and studies food waste for each type of consumer and for each flow.
• According to Tianyu Zhang, representative of CREDA’s participation in the project, “a study of this type can prevent malnutrition among patients and lead to a more efficient and sustainable healthcare system”.

July 04, 2024

The Centre de Recerca en Economia i Desenvolupament Agroalimentari (CREDA) collaborates with the Hospital Vall d’Hebron de Barcelona in the SWIFT-CARE project, an initiative that aims to reduce food waste through the study and implementation of alternative measures. The project, which started last March, is part of the new line of “Internal Projects” that CREDA incorporated at the end of 2023.

Thus, SWIFT-CARE wants to know what the generation of waste is in the hospital for each type of consumer, taking into account patients, health personnel and external clients, but also for each flow, both pre-processing and processing, as in serving on the plate.

To obtain this information and propose a suitable solution, the project is divided into four phases: (1) identification of the problem through interviews, focus groups and surveys; (2) quantification of waste before the intervention; (3) design and implementation of intervention strategies; and (4) quantification of post-intervention waste.

Tianyu Zhang, PhD student in sustainability, is a CREDA participant in this project. For her, “managing food waste in a hospital is quite a challenge, given the complexity of planning meals for a wide variety of patients with different needs and tastes and coordinating information between many people involved in the process“.

According to Zhang, the work developed by the Catalan centre “is crucial to identify key strategies to minimize food waste, thus freeing up resources that can be redirected to improve care for patients“. A study of this type “can prevent the malnutrition of users and lead to better results and a more efficient and sustainable healthcare system“, comments the PhD student.

CONTEXT

SWIFT-CARE is carried out within the framework of the imminent entry into force of law 3/2020, of March 11, on the prevention of food losses and waste, which imposes obligations on the supply chain of food that involves the implementation of measures to fight against waste and the quantification of food that ends up being discarded. However, the hospital field is relatively unexplored compared to areas such as school canteens and restaurants. In this context, CREDA proposes a project of great importance and with great expectations for social improvement.

Among the main ambitions of the project is the expansion of information related to food waste in hospitals using procedures that take into account all interested parties, provide strong data and allow the implementation of functional measures in similar situations.

OFFICIAL DATA

SWIFT-CARE (Study based on a pioneering method in Spain to reduce food waste in hospitals) has a total budget of 15.000€ financed by CREDA, and aims to end in December 2024.

The team responsible for the project is made up of: Djamel Rahmani (IP), Tianyu Zhang and Ivan Endrino.