We save food

Too small, too big, not round enough - who hasn’t heard all of that when baking dough? Our pizza production also produces bases that do not meet our quality standards or cannot be reused in this way. However: These pre-baked bases are ground up and are the perfect addition to a new dough. They are being reused for the next batch of dough whenever sensible and possible.

If not all of the cheese lands on the pizza when it is sprinkled on, the cheese that falls on the side is neatly collected with a belt and can be further used.

The replenishment does not arrive, high humidity causes residues in the machine –sometimes we can not avoid a standstill in the filling of our dessert powder. As the temperature in the sealing area gets too high then, some products are no longer safe to eat. But: Recently, we have been able to fine-tune our machines even further, so this now affects ten fewer sachets per stoppage.

We also avoid backlogs due to disruptions in other production areas wherever possible: by using a diversion to which the products can be manually routed. This gives our teams valuable time for corrections.

To reduce food waste Dr. Oetker Denmark supports the food supermarket “WeFood” with donations. In three stores, “WeFood” sells goods, that are still in perfect condition but whose best-before date has already passed, to a lower price. All of the profits go to the Danish NGO “Folkekirkens Nødhjælp” which supports people in need in Denmark and abroad.

In Italy, surplus products are donated to the Banco Alimentare organization, which then distributes them to various social organizations throughout the country.

Since 2018, we've been working in cooperation with Caritas Switzerland by supplying our products to their stores, where people with limited budgets can buy goods at a lower price.

Our team in Mexico donates products to the local food banks and the Red Cross, both of which work to help people in need quickly and effectively.

At the end of 2023, Dr Oetker Canada launched THE BIG DOUGHNATION, a four-week campaign to benefit Food Banks Canada. Among other things, the company donated 50 cents for every pizza and dessert purchased during the campaign period.

In order to reduce food waste, Dr. Oetker Romania donates products that can no longer be sold but can still be used to NGOs and food banks, which then pass them on to various social organizations.

Only 12% of Germans consume all food before the best-before date (BBD) is reached – and they don't have to. Because many foods are good for longer.

Around 67 percent of Germans already proceed according to the "look, smell, taste" procedure for an expired best-before date and look, smell and taste whether they are still edible.

This means that Germans are already taking a lot of effort to waste as little food as possible: 55 percent of those surveyed said that they already pay attention to conscious shopping.

Around 51 percent simply freeze food if possible...

...and 44 percent think carefully about what they can prepare from leftovers.

Only six percent of those surveyed simply throw food in the trash after the best-before date has expired without being checked.