Fresher for Longer's conference will run on 5 February in central London. The conference is aimed at supporting councils, retailers, brands and related supply chain organisations to take forward the Fresher for Longer campaign in 2014.
Defra's newly appointed Minister for Resource Management, Dan Rogerson MP (Liberal Democrat) has been confirmed along with Kerry McCarthy MP (Labour), Shadow Minister for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Mark Pawsey MP (Conservative) Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Packaging.
Jane Bickerstaffe, director of Incpen, said: "It's really important the Fresher for Longer campaign gets out there to the public. People know food waste is an environmental disaster in developing countries but it is also a huge environmental problem in developed ones. This major conference aims to bring councils, retailers and other supply chain companies together so they can jointly tackle this by communicating with residents in their areas."
Dick Searle, chief executive of the Packaging Federation, added: "The UK is turning the corner from seeing all packaging as negative to realising packaging has played, and will play, major roles in reducing food waste. This conference will serve to hasten the pace of perception change."
Liz Goodwin, chief executive, Wrap and a speaker at the conference, said: "Reducing food waste is a global issue. There's a lot of work to do and I'm pleased the UK is at the forefront of activities to minimise food waste – developing and maintaining campaigns like Fresher for Longer will help deliver the reductions we all want to see."
David Bellamy, environment policy manager at the Food and Drink Federation, said: "FDF members work very hard to provide consumers with a large choice of safe, nutritious, appetizing and affordable food and drink products. So it's in everyone's interests that the value and role of packaging to preserve the safety and quality of these products and prevent them from going to waste right along the supply chain including in the home is now beginning to be recognised."
Cllr Paul Barrington-King, chair of the Kent Resource Partnership, said: "The campaign message is very important and so is the Partnership's approach to deliver it. The KRP is proud to work so productively with organisations across the supply chain."
Alice Ellison, environment policy adviser at the British Retail Consortium added: "The Fresher for Longer campaign messages are fully endorsed by BRC members. We strive to provide consumers with packaging that keeps products safe, fresh and minimises waste at home."
