By strengthening coordination and introducing proactive shelf-life monitoring, the Danish pilot demonstrates how upstream collaboration in the dairy supply chain can significantly reduce overproduction and shift surplus food from disposal to donation.
Led by Food & Bio Cluster Denmark (FBCD) in collaboration with Naturmælk, the Danish pilot focuses on reducing food waste in the dairy supply chain by improving how shelf life is managed and how actors coordinate their decisions. Instead of targeting consumers, the pilot works upstream, where many waste-related decisions are made long before products reach the shelf.
The main challenge lies in suboptimal shelf-life allocation and limited coordination between producers, wholesalers, and downstream users. As a result, products may be overproduced or discarded even when they are still safe and usable. The pilot tests whether earlier information sharing and proactive monitoring can prevent this waste without changing formal shelf-life rules.
In practice, the pilot introduced closer collaboration across departments and supply chain actors. In addition, proactive shelf-life monitoring allowed partners to act earlier when products approached their use-by date. These adjustments led to measurable outcomes, including reduced overproduction and a near-elimination of biowaste. There was also a clear shift from disposal towards donation of surplus dairy products.
The pilot highlights that coordination is a powerful waste-prevention tool. Small operational improvements, supported by trust and communication, can produce significant results. Finally, the experience shows that systemic change does not always require new regulations, but can often be achieved by using existing rules more effectively and collaboratively.
