Every year in Canada, we throw away enough food to feed every person in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark combined. A staggering 21 million tonnes—or $58 billion—of food heads for landfills, all while millions of Canadians struggle to keep up with rising grocery bills.
Our food waste problem is just as troubling from an environmental perspective. According to a report by Second Harvest, the greenhouse gas emissions of Canada’s avoidable food waste—defined as all food that was at one point edible, including at the time of disposal—emits the equivalent of 253,223 one-way flights from Toronto to Vancouver. Globally, food waste accounts for between 8-10% of all emissions.
The scope of the food waste crisis is head spinning, influencing everything from cost of living to our climate. But we are making progress. As CFIN’s Foodtech in Canada: 2025 Ecosystem Report illustrates, Canada is emerging as a global leader in food waste and upcycling innovation. Across the country, dozens of innovative startups are building food waste solutions where it matters most.
Expiration Exasperation: When Good Food Goes Bad (For No Good Reason)
Born in 1976 as a seemingly helpful guide for consumers, best before dates (BBDs) have instead become a primary culprit behind nearly a quarter of Canada's food waste.
Most consumers still take "best before" to be synonymous with "bad after". Legally speaking, that is true for retailers, who cannot sell food past the (often arbitrary) BBD stamped on its package. Mountains of perfectly good food go to waste thanks to this well-intentioned, but deeply flawed system.
However, startups like Toronto-based Flashfood are helping address BBD-related food waste with solutions that benefit both retailers and consumers. Founded in 2016, the startup created a mobile app that helps consumers find discounted items nearing expiry, purchase them at significant markdowns, and pick up groceries directly from participating stores. In doing so, Flashfood has prevented millions of pounds of food from ending up in landfills.
Connecting Donors and Food Rescue Organizations
Businesses often find it easier—and cheaper—to compost surplus food or turn it into animal feed rather than donate it. Logistical hurdles, food safety concerns, and legal risks further deter companies from donating perfectly edible food. Calgary startup Knead Technologies tackles these barriers head-on by simplifying the food donation process. Their intuitive digital platform seamlessly connects businesses with food rescue organizations, handling logistics effortlessly, tracking donations in real-time, and efficiently coordinating volunteers.
Knead’s platform allows nonprofits to spend more time feeding people and less managing spreadsheets. Metro Food Rescue, for example, now rescues an additional 5,750 pounds of food each month since adopting Knead’s system, significantly reducing food waste, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and directly supporting communities.
New Use Cases for the Outcasts
Huge volumes of produce end up discarded in Canada simply because it doesn’t meet stringent visual or size-based grading regulations set by governments and retailers. But upcycling-savvy startups like Montreal-based LOOP Mission are finding ways to transform these overlooked outcasts into innovative products.
Initially launched with cold-pressed juices from these "imperfect" fruits and vegetables, LOOP has quickly expanded its creative approach into smoothies, wellness shots, probiotic sodas, and more. By demonstrating that produce deemed unsaleable by traditional standards still has market value, LOOP has successfully diverted millions of pounds of food from landfills.
Scaling Innovation: The Challenges Hindering Food Waste Solutions
When it comes to scaling solutions like these, Canadian innovators face a gauntlet of real-world obstacles. Regulatory frameworks are outdated and fragmented. Private capital is limited, particularly at later stages of growth. And while public funding is widely available, it’s often geared toward early-stage projects, leaving a critical gap when companies need it most.
The progress we’re making on tackling food waste through innovative solutions is inspiring, but we need to do more. We must support our innovators with targeted policy reform, greater access to private capital, and collaboration across the value chain to bring new ideas to market.