A LEADING ice-cream manufacturer has teamed up with a major fruit producer to make a dessert treat from plums destined for landfill.
Peters Ice Cream partnered with leading fresh produce company Montague to create "Rescue Pops - Plums Up", a frozen fruit sorbet stick made from rescued and repurposed Montague plums.
The venture is part of a growing trend for high profile companies to make efforts to curb waste.
Peters country head Emma-Jane Collins said it was important for Australia's most prominent food brands to highlight and address the issue of food waste.
"Addressing the food waste problem in Australia is essential for environmental sustainability and something we are passionate about at Peters Ice Cream," Ms Collins said.
"By partnering with a sustainable stone fruit grower like Montague, we're actively showing how brands with aligned values can work together to minimise waste in a creative, delicious way."
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The highly perishable nature of stonefruits makes them one of the most common fruits to end up wasted.
Montague managing director Scott Montague said the partnership connected two companies with similar commitments to long-term sustainability and a keen environmental focus.
"Aligning with Peters is an exceptional opportunity for us to lead by example as we embed sustainability into every aspect of our operations," he said.
As well as saving imperfect Aussie plums from landfill, Peters will assist in closing the loop on food waste by funding 200,000 meals for Australians in need through Foodbank.
"This initiative not only helps us reduce Australia's food waste - saving perfectly good fruit from ending up in landfill - it will also enable us to add additional strength to our alliance with Foodbank by donating much-needed meals for many Aussies in need," Ms Collins said.
The gluten-free, plant-based Rescue Pops - Plums Up sorbet sticks have no artificial colours or flavours and contain 56 calories per serve.
The product is available exclusively from Woolworths supermarkets as an eight-pack for $8.50RRP.
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