“We have rescued plums from going to landfill and we have put them in a delicious sorbet”
This summer, a new collaboration between a leading Australian stone fruit grower and one of the country’s most popular ice cream brands saved imperfect premium plums that were destined for landfill.
Montague and Peters Ice Cream have collaborated to create Rescue Pops-Plums Up, frozen fruit sorbet sticks. Peters Country Head, Emma-Jane Collins, says the collaboration demonstrates how brands with similar values can collaborate to reduce waste in a creative and delicious way.
“It all started when David McNamara, the CEO of Foodbank Victoria, called to say they had a conversation with the Montague team about the waste that goes around plums,” she explained. “He thought it would be a great idea for our companies to meet and talk. Montague had already completed a project centred on waste and what they could do to save the plums, which is where we came in. We’re very proud that the two companies worked together to create this from start to finish. I believe the name ‘Rescue Pops’ says it all and accurately describes the project; we saved plums from the landfill and turned them into a delicious sorbet. The message is clear and simple enough for people to understand without being overburdened with information.”
Every year, 7.6 million tonnes of food waste end up in landfill in Australia, which equates to approximately 312kg per person. Much of this waste is perfectly edible but is discarded because of minor flaws and imperfections. Stone fruits, such as plums, are among the most common fruits to end up in landfill because they bruise easily, are highly perishable, and have few options for juicing or repurposing.
” We are very pleased with the product’s outcome; it is a very tasty sorbet with a strong plum flavour “Ms. Collins stated. “We think they’re refreshing, and the texture goes well with sorbet. They’re also quite unique in the category. We simply think it’s a lovely product. We chose plums for this project because they are more perishable than other fruits, with fewer options for extending their shelf life or repurposing them into products like juice or cider. However, other fruits (such as peaches, nectarines, and pears) do end up in landfills. If consumers enjoy Rescue Pops-Plums Up as much as we do, there is definitely room to expand the range into other fruit flavours.”
Peters will help close the loop on food waste by funding 200,000 meals for Australians in need through Foodbank, in addition to saving imperfect Australian plums from landfill.
Scott Montague, Montague’s Managing Director, agrees that partnerships like this one can help make a difference, even if it’s just by salvaging one unique fruit at a time.
“The goal of Rescue Pops was to reduce food waste,” he explained. “Around 30% of all plums and stone fruit in Australia end up in some form of landfill, so this is a fantastic long-term effort to reduce food waste. The fruit is frequently rejected due to minor cosmetic issues, but this is a method of transforming premium Montague plums into a delicious product. So much stone fruit goes to waste in this country because we have high expectations of what it should look like on the retail shelf, despite the fact that it (blemished fruit) eats just as well as any other piece of fruit. This is a fantastic opportunity to create something unique with that fruit.”