Food
Waste and Food Loss
The
global food waste was estimated to be a staggering 931 million tons or about
121 kg per capita across three major contributing sectors that include 61% from
households, 26% from food services, and 13% from retail. Food loss and waste are
major factors in the impact of agriculture on climate change as they contribute
to 3.3 billion tons of CO2 emissions annually and other environmental issues. Food
loss and waste occur at all stages of the food supply chain throughout
production, processing, sales, and consumption, whereas about one-third of the
world's food production is thrown away. Food loss and waste are considered as
the food that is not eaten and can cause food waste or numerous losses
throughout the food supply chain, during production, processing, distribution,
retail or foodservice sales, and consumption. Thus, food loss and food waste have
indeed become an issue of great public concern, where the United Nation’s
Climate change mitigation strategies prominently feature reducing food waste,
where the UN charter on Sustainable Development Goal has included its target
12.3 to seek "halve global per capita food waste at the retail and
consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains,
including post-harvest losses" by 2030.
There are two major paths for wasted food, that are food loss and food waste, where food loss is the largest contributor, which incorporates any edible food that goes uneaten at any stage, including food uneaten in homes and stores, crops that were left in the field, food that spoils in transportation, and all other food that doesn’t make it to a store. Some amount of food is lost at nearly every stage of food production. Food waste is a specific piece of food loss, which is defined as “food discarded by retailers due to color or appearance and plate waste by consumers, including the half-eaten meal left on the plate at a restaurant, food scraps from preparing a meal at home and the sour milk a family pours down the drain”.
Nevertheless,
food loss is referred to as the decrease in the quantity or quality of food
resulting from decisions and actions taken throughout the food supply chain,
excluding retailers, food service providers, and consumers. Further, it refers
to any food that is discarded, incinerated, or otherwise disposed of along the
food supply chain from harvest/slaughter/catch up to, but excluding the retail
level, and does not re-enter in any other productive utilization, such as feed
or seed.
Food waste is defined as the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers, and consumers including fresh produce that deviates from what is considered optimal such as the shape, size, and color, is often removed from the supply chain during sorting operations, or foods that are close to, at or beyond the “best-before” date are often discarded by retailers and consumers and large quantities of wholesome edible food are often unused or leftover and discarded from household kitchens and eating establishments.
Food waste that is not handled or reclaimed properly, such as composting can have many negative environmental consequences, i.e. a landfill gas from anaerobic digestion of organic matter is a major source of the greenhouse gas methane, and un-reclaimed phosphorus in food waste leads to further phosphate leachate. Hence, reducing food waste through the food supply chain is an important part of reducing the environmental impact of agriculture that directly impacts on the total amount of water, land, and other resources used. Thus, reduction of food loss and food waste would lead to more efficient land use and better water resource management with positive impacts on climate change and livelihoods.
While
responsive government programs have tried to buy excess produce and donate it
to food shelves or emergency relief organizations, it has been a very difficult
and expensive process due to highly specialized processing and transportation specifications
that have made donations difficult and expensive to execute. The cosmetic
imperfections or ugly look is another significant source of food waste on farms
both before and after harvest, as consumers are less interested in purchasing misshaped
or blemished items. Food safety is another major hurdle to consumption whereas
businesses can be foreclosed or bankrupt if the unperfected foods (even if it
is safer to eat yet) are released to the market, where such foods are
immediately removed from supply chains. Nonetheless, mishaps in food
preservation such as improper refrigeration and handling can also force farmers
to throw out otherwise edible food.
There was an estimated 43 billion pounds of food were wasted in US retail stores in 2010, which was further traumatizing given that 12.3% of American households were food insecure by 2016. Most of the food loss in retail operations is contributed to perishables, including baked goods, produce, meat, seafood, and prepared meals. Unfortunately, wasteful practices in the retail industry are often viewed as good business strategies. Hence, some of the major factors that contributed to food loss at retail stores are overstocked product displays, the expectation of cosmetic perfection of fruits, vegetables, and other foods, oversized packages, the availability of prepared food until closing, expired “sell by” dates, damaged goods, outdated seasonal items, over purchasing of unpopular foods and understaffing. There is a very low quantity of foods that are recovered from edible wasted food unfortunately only contributing around 10% each year, in the US. The Barriers to recovering edible foods from food waste have liability concerns such as distribution, storage logistics, and funds required for verification, gleaning, collecting, packaging and distribution.
Food
loss occurs on farms for a variety of reasons, such as pests and weather, where
farmers often plant more than consumers demand, and they may not be harvested
because of damage by weather, pests, and disease. Nonetheless, market
conditions off the farm can lead farmers to throw out edible food, i.e. if the
price of produce on the market is lower than the cost of transportation and
labor, sometimes farmers will leave their crops un-harvested. This practice,
called dumping, happens when farmers are producing more of a product that
people are willing to buy, or when demand for a product falls unexpectedly.
Most of the food waste coming out of manufacturing and processing facilities is generated while trimming off edible portions, such as skin, fat, crusts, and peels from food, which may be recovered and used for other purposes in some instances or discarded. Several issues, like overproduction, product damage, and technical problems at manufacturing facilities contribute to these large quantities of food waste. Generally, farms and food processing facilities are also highly vulnerable to labor disruptions and shortages with a very high labor turnover, which may force farms and processing plants to close in an emergency situation like pandemic, riots, or wars.
A great deal of food waste in manufacturing facilities is a result of spoilage and inadequate food safety practices, which requires a strong food safety culture at all levels of the organization that ensures alignment between best practices and day-to-day operations. On the other hand, kitchen culture and staff behavior in diners, restaurants, and hotels such as over-preparation of food, improper ingredient storage, and failure to use food scraps and trimmings can also contribute to food loss.
Globally, households are the largest portion responsible for of all food waste, whereas ReFED has estimated that US households waste 76 billion pounds of food per year. The approximate figures are about 40 to 50% of food waste happens at the level of the consumer. Accordingly, an average person wastes 238 pounds of food per year or 21 % of the purchased quantity costing them $1,800 per year In the US. The fresh fruits (19%) and vegetables (22%) are accounted for the largest losses at the consumer level, which is followed by dairy (20%), meat (21%), and seafood.
There are several macro-level drivers of the food waste problem on a global scale such as difficulty in turning of new consumer awareness into action, the misinformation waves on social media, YouTube, and other forms such as conventional beliefs. Food waste and loss have become such a large problem, because of that it has not been effectively measured or studied at macro levels. Household actions remain a large source of food waste and more needs to be done to help educate the public and provide people with resources to help them implement such food-saving practices at home.
The household food waste is massive due to food spoilage, over-preparing, date and label confusions, over-preparing, overbuying, poor planning, etc.
Ways to Avoid Wasting Food
Be
aware of how much food you throw away.
Don’t buy more food than can be used before it spoils.
Plan meals and use shopping lists.
Think about what you are buying and when it will be eaten.
Check the fridge and pantry to avoid buying what you already have.
Avoid impulse and bulk purchases, especially produce and dairy that has a limited shelf life.
Restrict buying from promotions that are encouraging purchases of unusual or bulk products, which often result in consumers buying foods outside their typical needs or family preferences, and portions of these foods may end up in the trash.
When eating out, become a more mindful eater, where if you’re not very hungry request smaller portions and take your leftovers home and refrigerate or freeze them within two hours.
Check the temperature setting of your fridge.
Use a refrigerator thermometer to be sure the temperature is at 40° F or below and the freezer should be 0° F or below to keep foods safe and avoid over-packing inside in order to circulate cold air inside.
Wipe up spills immediately, which will not only reduces the growth of Listeria bacteria (which can grow at refrigerator temperatures), cleaning up spills and will help prevent "cross-contamination," where bacteria from one food spread to another.
Store refrigerated foods in covered containers or sealed storage bags, and check leftovers daily for spoilage.
Refrigerate peeled or cut veggies for freshness and to keep them from going bad.
Use your freezer to store the most high-risk perishable foods to keep them from going bad until you are ready to eat them.
Check your fridge often to keep track of what you have and what needs to be used.
Eat or freeze items before you need to throw them away.
To keep foods safe when entertaining, remember the 2-Hour Rule: don’t leave perishable foods out at room temperature for more than two hours, unless you're keeping hot foods hot
and cold foods cold. If you’re eating outdoors and the
temperature is above 90° F, perishable foods shouldn’t be left out for more
than one hour.
References:
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/how-cut-food-waste-and-maintain-food-safety
https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/tips-prevent-food-waste-and-maintain-food-safety
https://mygfsi.com/blog/ensuring-food-safety-and-reducing-food-waste-go-hand-in-hand/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_loss_and_waste
https://foodprint.org/issues/the-problem-of-food-waste/
https://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/flw-data)
https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/
https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-of-green/help-end-food-waste/
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/food-loss-waste.html
There are two major paths for wasted food, that are food loss and food waste, where food loss is the largest contributor, which incorporates any edible food that goes uneaten at any stage, including food uneaten in homes and stores, crops that were left in the field, food that spoils in transportation, and all other food that doesn’t make it to a store. Some amount of food is lost at nearly every stage of food production. Food waste is a specific piece of food loss, which is defined as “food discarded by retailers due to color or appearance and plate waste by consumers, including the half-eaten meal left on the plate at a restaurant, food scraps from preparing a meal at home and the sour milk a family pours down the drain”.
Food waste is defined as the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers, and consumers including fresh produce that deviates from what is considered optimal such as the shape, size, and color, is often removed from the supply chain during sorting operations, or foods that are close to, at or beyond the “best-before” date are often discarded by retailers and consumers and large quantities of wholesome edible food are often unused or leftover and discarded from household kitchens and eating establishments.
Food waste that is not handled or reclaimed properly, such as composting can have many negative environmental consequences, i.e. a landfill gas from anaerobic digestion of organic matter is a major source of the greenhouse gas methane, and un-reclaimed phosphorus in food waste leads to further phosphate leachate. Hence, reducing food waste through the food supply chain is an important part of reducing the environmental impact of agriculture that directly impacts on the total amount of water, land, and other resources used. Thus, reduction of food loss and food waste would lead to more efficient land use and better water resource management with positive impacts on climate change and livelihoods.
There was an estimated 43 billion pounds of food were wasted in US retail stores in 2010, which was further traumatizing given that 12.3% of American households were food insecure by 2016. Most of the food loss in retail operations is contributed to perishables, including baked goods, produce, meat, seafood, and prepared meals. Unfortunately, wasteful practices in the retail industry are often viewed as good business strategies. Hence, some of the major factors that contributed to food loss at retail stores are overstocked product displays, the expectation of cosmetic perfection of fruits, vegetables, and other foods, oversized packages, the availability of prepared food until closing, expired “sell by” dates, damaged goods, outdated seasonal items, over purchasing of unpopular foods and understaffing. There is a very low quantity of foods that are recovered from edible wasted food unfortunately only contributing around 10% each year, in the US. The Barriers to recovering edible foods from food waste have liability concerns such as distribution, storage logistics, and funds required for verification, gleaning, collecting, packaging and distribution.
Most of the food waste coming out of manufacturing and processing facilities is generated while trimming off edible portions, such as skin, fat, crusts, and peels from food, which may be recovered and used for other purposes in some instances or discarded. Several issues, like overproduction, product damage, and technical problems at manufacturing facilities contribute to these large quantities of food waste. Generally, farms and food processing facilities are also highly vulnerable to labor disruptions and shortages with a very high labor turnover, which may force farms and processing plants to close in an emergency situation like pandemic, riots, or wars.
A great deal of food waste in manufacturing facilities is a result of spoilage and inadequate food safety practices, which requires a strong food safety culture at all levels of the organization that ensures alignment between best practices and day-to-day operations. On the other hand, kitchen culture and staff behavior in diners, restaurants, and hotels such as over-preparation of food, improper ingredient storage, and failure to use food scraps and trimmings can also contribute to food loss.
Globally, households are the largest portion responsible for of all food waste, whereas ReFED has estimated that US households waste 76 billion pounds of food per year. The approximate figures are about 40 to 50% of food waste happens at the level of the consumer. Accordingly, an average person wastes 238 pounds of food per year or 21 % of the purchased quantity costing them $1,800 per year In the US. The fresh fruits (19%) and vegetables (22%) are accounted for the largest losses at the consumer level, which is followed by dairy (20%), meat (21%), and seafood.
There are several macro-level drivers of the food waste problem on a global scale such as difficulty in turning of new consumer awareness into action, the misinformation waves on social media, YouTube, and other forms such as conventional beliefs. Food waste and loss have become such a large problem, because of that it has not been effectively measured or studied at macro levels. Household actions remain a large source of food waste and more needs to be done to help educate the public and provide people with resources to help them implement such food-saving practices at home.
The household food waste is massive due to food spoilage, over-preparing, date and label confusions, over-preparing, overbuying, poor planning, etc.
Ways to Avoid Wasting Food
Don’t buy more food than can be used before it spoils.
Plan meals and use shopping lists.
Think about what you are buying and when it will be eaten.
Check the fridge and pantry to avoid buying what you already have.
Avoid impulse and bulk purchases, especially produce and dairy that has a limited shelf life.
Restrict buying from promotions that are encouraging purchases of unusual or bulk products, which often result in consumers buying foods outside their typical needs or family preferences, and portions of these foods may end up in the trash.
When eating out, become a more mindful eater, where if you’re not very hungry request smaller portions and take your leftovers home and refrigerate or freeze them within two hours.
Check the temperature setting of your fridge.
Use a refrigerator thermometer to be sure the temperature is at 40° F or below and the freezer should be 0° F or below to keep foods safe and avoid over-packing inside in order to circulate cold air inside.
Wipe up spills immediately, which will not only reduces the growth of Listeria bacteria (which can grow at refrigerator temperatures), cleaning up spills and will help prevent "cross-contamination," where bacteria from one food spread to another.
Store refrigerated foods in covered containers or sealed storage bags, and check leftovers daily for spoilage.
Refrigerate peeled or cut veggies for freshness and to keep them from going bad.
Use your freezer to store the most high-risk perishable foods to keep them from going bad until you are ready to eat them.
Check your fridge often to keep track of what you have and what needs to be used.
Eat or freeze items before you need to throw them away.
To keep foods safe when entertaining, remember the 2-Hour Rule: don’t leave perishable foods out at room temperature for more than two hours, unless you're keeping hot foods hot
References:
https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/how-cut-food-waste-and-maintain-food-safety
https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/tips-prevent-food-waste-and-maintain-food-safety
https://mygfsi.com/blog/ensuring-food-safety-and-reducing-food-waste-go-hand-in-hand/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_loss_and_waste
https://foodprint.org/issues/the-problem-of-food-waste/
https://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/flw-data)
https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america/
https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-of-green/help-end-food-waste/
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/food-loss-waste.html
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