“My heart bleeds that food is just thrown away carelessly,” says Gerald Hackl. About a million tons of food ends up in the trash in Austria every year. Holidays and fuel are handled much more carefully – this irritates the Vivatis boss, who therefore goes on the attack.
From Knabbernossi to Inzersdorfer to Wojnar’s: many well-known brands belong to the Vivatis Group, based in Linz. “As a group, we make great efforts to produce our high-quality food with the best raw materials and under the best conditions,” says Gerald Hackl.
About a million tons of food ends up in the trash every year
The fact that in Austria about a million tons of food ends up in the trash every year irritates the group’s boss: “Apparently food has little value – otherwise you wouldn’t throw it away.”
Hackl cannot understand that: “You don’t fill up with diesel or petrol and then let it drain again. And if you go on holiday, you stay for the seven days you have booked and you do not go home after four days and you forfeit the rest.”
“We stand behind Austria”
The food producer is under enormous cost pressure: “We still pay three times the price of electricity and gas.” We accept disadvantages in competition with international brands: “We support Austria and want to produce here. We also buy all the raw materials we can get here.’ Hackl never tires of pointing out the value of food and calling for a more conscious approach: ‘We are preachers.’
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
