n this episode of Food Waste Matters, Dr. Joanne Freeman welcomes back Associate Professor Lukas Parker from RMIT University to continue their discussion on date labels and storage advice.
Last time, Lukas shared insights from consumer research revealing just how confusing “best before” and “use by” dates are for everyday Australians. This follow-up episode explores the next stage of his work, where supermarkets, food brands, government, and consumers came together to co-design and test clearer, more effective labeling solutions.
Listeners will hear about:
- The “hop, skip, jump” label designs developed to spark industry and consumer conversations.
- The triangle of inaction—where government, industry, and consumers all wait for each other to act.
- Why colour, icons, and even QR codes could transform how we understand and use food labels.
- How clearer guidance could help households cut back on the $2,600 worth of food wasted per year—and why systemic change is still needed across industry and policy.
Whether you’re a food producer, policymaker, or simply someone who wants to waste less, this episode sheds light on how small changes to packaging could have a big impact on reducing household food waste.
As always, if you have questions, feedback, or your own story about reducing food waste, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us an email at [email protected]. And don’t forget, you can catch up on all our past episodes on your favourite podcast platform—just search for Food Waste Matters.
More about Lukas
Associate Professor Lukas Parker is a leading social marketing and advertising scholar whose research sits at the nexus of behaviour change, communicating health and digital advertising. Leading teams of researchers, his research addresses pressing social problems related to health and sustainability. He has over fifty peer-reviewed publications including influential co-authored books Social Marketing and Advertising in the Age of Social Media (2020) and Social Marketing and Behaviour Change: Models, theory and applications (2014) which guide social marketing practitioners and scholars.
Associate Professor Parker leads 3C (Communication and Change Co-lab) that undertakes projects that create change through communication - whether that be social, behavioural, or cultural. He also co-leads Co-Lab.
Learn more about Lukas here: https://www.lukasparker.com/about.html
Links to research:
Date Labelling and Storage Advice Collective Intelligence Workshops: Position Paper
National Date Labelling and Storage Advice Project – Phase 1c Pilot Designs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0rdGP_YDQ0
EFWCRC Phase 1d Collective Intelligence workshops Final Report Overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtZmKRMG2x4
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This podcast is brought to you by Honey & Fox, whose passion is food and the people who produce it. Honey & Fox works with fishers, farmers and small food businesses to help them find and sell to their perfect customers – people who will buy without questioning the price. Find out more at www.honeyandfox.com.au.
This podcast is supported by End Food Waste Australia, which is leading impactful and research-informed food waste actions. To learn more about how they are working toward a more sustainable future, please visit www.endfoodwaste.com.au.
