Global Food Waste FAO - MADRGlobal Food Losses and Food Waste Jenny Gustavsson, Christel Cederberg & Ulf Sonesson SIK –The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology Save Food

Global Food Losses

and Food Waste

Jenny Gustavsson, Christel Cederberg & Ulf Sonesson

SIK – The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology

Save Food Congress, Düsseldorf 16 May 2011

The assignment

– Collect, analyze and assemble knowledge on

global food losses and waste.

– Knowledge is limited!

Two studies:

Medium and high income countries:

Region 1: Europe (including Russia)

Region 2: USA, Canada, Australia & New Zeeland

Region 3: China, Japan, South Korea

Low income countries:

Region 4: Sub-Saharan Africa

Region 5: North Africa, Central Asia & Western Asia

Region 6: South and Southeastern Asia

Region 7: Latin Amerika

1

2

ScopeFor each region:

Agricultural

production

Postharvest

handling and

storage

Processing

and packaging

Distribution Consumption

Cereals

Roots & tubers

Fruit & Vegetables

Oilseeds & pulses

Meat

Fish & Seafood

Milk & Eggs

Questions:

• Volumes produced?

• Percentage of losses/waste in each step of the food supply chain?

• Amounts of food lost/wasted?

• Economic costs of food losses/waste?

• Energy required for producing losses/waste?

• Causes of losses/waste?

• How to prevent losses/waste?

Methods• Literature study

• Personal contact with researchers

• Local FAO-Officers

• Food Balance Sheets

• Food prices (producer + retail)

• LCA- studies on food production

• Calculations and combinations of data from

different sources

• Estimations and assumptions!

Percentage of waste - trendsWhole food supply chain

Low income countries

%

Step in food supply chain

Medium and high income

countries

Volumes of waste

Total:

SSA: 15-20 Mton – 7 billion USD

North Africa, Western Asia & Central Asia: 25-30 Mton – 12 billion USD

South & Southeastern Asia: 85-90 Mton – 24 billion USD

Latin America: 20-25 Mtons – 11 billion USD

Example cereals:

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Agricultural production

Postharvest handling and storage

Processing and packaging

Distribution Consumption Total

Mtons

SSA NA,WA&CA S&SE Asia LA

Volumes of waste

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Agricultural production

Postharvest handling and storage

Processing and packaging

Distribution Consumption Total

Mtons

Europe NA&Oce Ind. Asia

Total:

Europe: 40-45 Mton – 57 billion USD

North America & Oceania: 23-37 Mton – 33 billion USD

Industrialized Asia: 90-95 Mton – 29 billion USD

Example cereals:

Range of wastage

Commodity group Total in chain (min) Total in chain (max)

Cereals 19 % (SSA) 32% (NAm&Oce)

Oil crops and pulses 18% (Ind. Asia) 29 % (NAf, WA& CA)

Roots and tubers 33% (NAf, WA&CA) 60 % (NAm&Oce)

Fruit and vegetables 37% (Ind. Asia) 55% (NAf,WA&CA)

Meat 20% (S&SE Asia) 27% (SSA)

Fish and seafood 30% (LA) 50% (NAm&Oce)

Milk 11% (Ind.Asia) 25% (SSA)

Egg 12% (SSA) 20% (NAm&Oce)

Summary results

Commodity

group

Low income High income Total

Cereals 155 800 161 100 316 900

Roots &

Tubers

123 100 121 600 244 700

Oilseeds &

Pulses

31 500 11 600 43 100

Fruit &

Vegetables

221 600 270 400 492 000

Meat 20 000 40 700 60 700

Fish &

Seafood

6 700 10 700 17 400

Milk & Eggs 64 700 55 000 119 700

(1000 tons)

Poor storage facilities

©FAO/Vasily Maximov

Tajikistan: Man winnowing rice drying in the sun

Causes of food losses?Low income countries: emphasis early in the supply chain!

• Warm/humid climate

• Rodents

• Parasites

• Fungus

Poor infrastructure and transportation,

lack of refrigeration

©SIK/Friederike Ziegler


©FAO/Diana Giampiero

Nicaragua: truck loaded with mangoes

Bangladesh: rickshaws transporting

milk from farm to processing plant


Inadequate market facilities

©FAO/O. Argenti

Pakistan: Trading of food at central market

•Unsanitary

•Crowded

•Lack of refrigeration

Poor packaging

Rwanda

©Lisa Kitinoja

Rwanda: Large basket of tomatoes

Rwanda

©SK Roy

Rwanda: Large sack of leafy greens


Causes of food waste?High income countries: emphasis late in the supply chain!

Quality standards

©SIK

Fruit and vegetables in retail store

•Photogenic sensors

•Aestetic defects:

-Not bright orange

-Blend or blemish

-Broken

-25-30%


Food manufacture

©SIK

French fries produced from potato

•Sorted out potatoes (<10%)

•Trimming scraps (2-12%)

•Sorted out french fries (1-10%)

•Transportation losses

during processing (1-10%)


Poor environmental conditions during display

©SIK


•Poor temperature management!

- Chilling sensitive – too cold

- Heat sensitive – too warm

•Major reason for retail waste

of F&V (55%)


©SIK


Lack of planning – limited focus on waste

• Central kitchen

• Local school kitchen

• Lack of communication/coordination

• Food could not be stored for

the next day – trade-off with food safety


Best-before-dates

©SIK

Eggs

55%, UK households

Food may still be good to eat!

- Best-before-date?

- Use-by-date?


Leftovers

©SIK

Leftovers from serving

42%, UK households

From:

•Cooking

•Preparing

•Serving

How to prevent food losses?

Low income countries:

- Local investments

- Education

- Cooling chain when possible

- Improved packaging

- Improved market facilities

High income countries:

- Improved communication in supply chains

- Awareness!

- Consumer power

- Improved purchase and consumption planning

- Education (best-before-dates)

How to prevent food waste?

Conclusions

- Losses are largest for Fruit &Vegetables

(percentage, volumes, financial, energy)

- Substantial gaps in knowledge, throughout

the food chain!

- Coordinated research is needed

- Reducing food losses is an important

option to increase food availability

Documents

Global Food Waste FAO - MADRGlobal Food Losses and Food Waste Jenny Gustavsson, Christel Cederberg & Ulf Sonesson SIK –The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology Save Food