Understanding Food waste

This is important for us to remember when we are either grocery shopping for our families, or even cooking a meal.

food and nutrition with lucy

It has been estimated that one-third of the food produced globally is wasted. With 35% of this loss occurring at the consumption stage.WRAP (2008) estimated that 61% of food which is thrown away and therefore wasted could have been avoided.

What are the main reasons for consumers wasting food?

1.The food has passed its “date”– this means that the food or drink could not be used because it had passed its “use by” or “best before” date, or the consumer decided it unsafe for consumption. WRAP (2008) estimated that 508,000 tonnes of food is wasted annually because it has passed its “date”.

This data may suggest that there may be a lack of consumer comprehension, in differentiating between use by dates and best before dates. Parfitt (2010) summarized UK research on the factors which cause consumers to waste food; they found that 45% of participants admitted to not…

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