Mayonnaise brand Hellmann’s aims to reduce food waste

The average American family loses $1,600 every year by discarding usable foods.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council NRDC, up to 40% of all U.S. food goes unaten, with 87% of the food waste coming from fresh vegetables, fruit and bread.

One prominent brand is working to solve the country's food waste problem.

New York City is the leading food waste offender, but simple tweaks can lead to a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, according to the new campaign See More in Your Fridge' by Mayo brand Hellmann's.

Ben Crook, the senior director of dressings condiments at Unilever UL, the parent company of Hellmann's, told Yahoo Finance that the campaign was intended to draw attention to the environmental impact but also the financial loss that the average American family experiences by not having the right tools to combat food waste at home.

There are more options in your fridge than what you might see at first glance. The executive stated that people often don't know how to properly store fruits and vegetables, which cause them to go bad at expedited rates and cause food waste. To help people be more resourceful with food at home, the brand created a four week behavior change program, Fridge Night, to help buck that trend.

It's a great tool to help consumers see more in their fridge. Crook explained that it teaches people tangible solutions like 'use-up days' and 'flexipes, or flexible recipes, which help people turn left-behind ingredients into easy-to- prepare meals.

The Fridge Night program reduced the amount of food thrown away by 46%, according to the company, citing a 2021 large-scale pilot study of the initiative.

Other steps Americans can take include adopting a mindful shopping routine, learning proper storage solutions, undergoing expiration label education, meal prepping, composting, and utilizing all parts of a food item.

Food waste is a source of food waste that can be used to create other sustainable crises, like climate change.

When we waste food, we also waste the resources it takes to create, grow, transport and package that food. He said that this creates a myriad of impacts like increased greenhouse gas emissions and fertilizer use.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protective Agency, food waste is the most common material that is landfilled and incinerated in the U.S., comprising 24% and 22% of landfilled and combusted municipal solid waste.

If food waste were the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind the United States and China, contributing to about 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions.

Hellman hopes that the United Nations will reach its sustainable development goal of reducing food waste by 50% by the year 2030.

As part of that mission, the brand is working with Harvard Law School's Food Law and Policy Clinic to enact federal legislation on standardized date labelling.

Crook said that the date labels are not federally regulated and are one of the most common drivers of at-home waste.

The number one goal for the brand in 2022 is the support of congressional support for the bill's passage.

Alexandra is a Senior Entertainment and Food Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter alliecanal 8193 or email her at alexandra.canalyahoofinance.com