Food Safety

Strategies and Technologies to Reduce Food Wastage

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Food loss is defined as “the decrease in quantity or quality of food” and are the agricultural or fisheries products intended for human consumption that are ultimately not eaten by people or that have incurred a reduction in quality reflected in their nutritional value, economic value or food safety. An important part of food loss is “food waste”, which refers to the discarding or alternative (nonfood) use of food that was fit for human consumption – by choice or after the food has been left to spoil or expire as a result of negligence.

The causes of food waste in medium- and high-income countries relate mainly to consumer behaviour and the policies and regulations put in place to address other sectorial priorities. For example, agricultural subsidies may contribute to the production of surplus quantities of farm crops, of which at least a proportion is lost or wasted. Food safety and quality standards can be applied in ways that remove food that is still safe for human consumption from the food supply chain. At the consumer level, inadequate planning of purchases and failure to use food before its expiry date also lead to avoidable food waste.