"The International Agricultural Show is an opportunity to talk about sustainable food"

Last week at the International Agricultural Show in Paris, Réseau Vivalya accepted an invitation from UNCGFL (National Union of Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Trade) and CGF (French Wholesalers Federation) to take part in a conference dedicated to the Anti Food Waste label, organized by CGDD (Commissioner General for Sustainable Development) and the Directorate for Food alongside the AFNOR Group at the ADEME booth. "We were approached because the local company Sainfruit - Réseau Le Saint, a member of Vivalya, was the first food wholesaler to be awarded 3-star certification," explains Olivier Feno-Feydel, managing director of Vivalya.

Combatting food waste: a collective project
This is a great opportunity for Réseau Vivalya to talk about its experience and its commitment to the Anti Food Waste label. "A certification process is first and foremost a collective project, and we wanted to highlight the commitment of our local teams and the producers and clients who are working with us to make this project a success. The International Agricultural Show is a key event for everyone, and it was an opportunity to talk about committed food."

A label with many benefits
Obtaining the Anti Food Waste label has enabled Réseau Vivalya to strengthen its commitment to a responsible and sustainable approach, by supporting its producers, optimizing the marketing of all their production, and raising awareness among its clients. "The Anti-Food Waste label has also enabled us to put in place solutions to take effective action against food waste. In concrete terms, it has enabled us to control and monitor our breakage rate, for example, to measure and formalize food donations for human or animal consumption, and finally to train our teams and raise awareness among our clients to encourage this approach. This confirms our historical practices, as we have forged strong links with our producers for generations. The label has also brought us a number of benefits: more communication and awareness-raising on this subject, and a specific, reliable framework to control our indicators."

The case of Sainfruit
After obtaining the label, Sainfruit, Réseau Le Saint wanted to take the process a step further by having its practices certified by an external body and aiming for large-scale deployment. "This has enabled us to formalize and structure the actions undertaken more effectively. The Sainfruit site is increasingly reducing its rate of breakage, and our aim is to gradually move towards national deployment."