The biggest reason for household food waste in 2021-22 was food not used on time as it “either smelled or looked off, or was past the date on the label”. Selling more fruit and vegetables uncut and loose (free of packaging), which prolongs shelf life and enables customers to buy only what they need.
What are the main reasons why the UK wastes so much food?
There are several factors that contribute to why the UK wastes a significant amount of food. Here are some key reasons: Overproduction: Food overproduction occurs at various stages of the supply chain, including farms, processing facilities, and manufacturing plants.
Which countries have the highest food waste in the world? Worldwide, the three highest food waste countries in 2022, namely with the most food waste originating from households, were China (more than 108 million tonnes), India (more than 78 million tonnes) and the United States of America (more than 24 million tonnes).
Salads are the food type thrown away in greatest proportion – more than 45% of all purchased will be wasted. Much of the food thrown away could have been avoided (4,100,000 tonnes, 61 per cent of the total amount of food waste) and with better management could have been eaten or used.
The volume of imports is driven by the level of domestic production, market conditions such as the price, existing stock levels, and customer demand. Due to environmental and climate conditions, the UK is consistently reliant on imports to meet demand for some arable crops.
The short answer is no. However, while the UK produces approximately 60% of the food it consumes domestically, with a higher self-sufficiency rate of 73% for indigenous food products, the UK relies on global supply chains to supplement its food supply, particularly for specialised and seasonal items.
Not for EU labelling requirements pertain to certain SPS (Sanitary-Phyto-Sanitary) products (mostly food products) which present the greatest challenges when crossing an international border because they involve negotiating the demands of both an international SPS border and a customs border.
Figures hatched by the British Egg Industry Council shows egg sales in the UK rose by 4% last year which translates to a whopping 7.2bn eggs. However, despite this growth in eggy appetite, research conducted by the owners of food waste app Too Good To Go reveals we actually throw away 720 million of those eggs.
It is estimated that a shocking 65% of food is wasted in the hospitality industry. Restaurants, cafes and hotels generate substantial amounts of food waste due to overproduction, spoilage, and plate waste.
Cyprus, Belgium, and Denmark make the top-3 of countries with the highest amount of total food waste per inhabitant. Slovenian, Croatian, and Swedish inhabitants produced the least amount of food waste across all Member States.
This country is South Korea. Since the 1990s, the South Korean government has shown their foresight by initiating households to throw away less trash to reduce the pressure on landfills.
The United States is, by far, the fast food capital of the world. A study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2018 showed that 36.6% of American adults ate fast food on any given day.
Increasingly our alliance has recognised that chronic household food insecurity is a product of low incomes, expensive housing and utilities, debt and struggling local economies with a lack of holistic community support services.
At the retail level, equipment malfunction (such as faulty cold storage), over-ordering, and culling of blemished produce can result in food loss. Consumers also contribute to food loss when they buy or cook more than they need and choose to throw out the extras (See Buzby et al (2014)).
Globally, one-third of all food produced is wasted. The UK alone discards approximately 9.52 million tonnes of food annually, enough to feed over 30 million people, despite 8.4 million in the UK experiencing food poverty.
Generally, EU standards are considered rigorous, particularly in areas like genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and animal welfare. For now, it's hard to distinguish whether UK food standards are higher than EU standards – but any future divergence could decrease the relative safety of UK standards.
The idea of labelling not for EU on food throughout the UK Nations was proposed by the UK government to help make it easier to produce one label for all of the UK (Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland) and to ensure the feeling of the unity of NI within the rest of the UK.
In 1984, the UK's overall food sufficiency was 78%. In 2021, it was 60%. Today, the nation is only 18% self-sufficient in fruit, 55% in vegetables and 71% in potatoes.
Along with most of the rest of Europe, Britain had severe food shortages during the Second World War. But because the country was never invaded, no one starved or was reduced to eating grass – for many, the diet and the rations imposed led to greater health.
As a nation, the USA generates more waste than any other nation in the world with 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg) of municipal solid waste (MSW) per person per day, fifty five percent of which is contributed as residential garbage.
Households are responsible for 54% of the total, while 46% comes is produced in supply chains. Among the 27 EU member states, Cyprus and Denmark are by far the biggest food wasters: the Mediterranean island produces an average of 294 kilograms of food waste per person annually, and Denmark 254.
A zero-waste kitchen is a culinary space that strives to eliminate food waste by using every part of the ingredient. This can include using vegetable scraps for broths, turning stale bread into croutons or breadcrumbs, and finding creative ways to incorporate overlooked or underused items into dishes.
