Webinar examines sustainable solutions for global food loss and waste

Lately, there has been increasing discussion over one part of the jigsaw known as the ‘agrifood system’: food loss and waste. Without addressing it, we cannot ensure inclusiveness, food security and sustainability in how our food is produced, processed, traded, and consumed.

A webinar organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) yesterday brought together experts and representatives from the wholesale and retail sector, and leading tech companies, to share proven practices and innovative solutions for reducing food loss and waste at the wholesale and retail level. The recording of the event is now available on YouTube.

“Retailers and wholesalers can be pioneers in leading the way to more sustainability. Indeed, by collaborating with food business operators from other stages of the food chain, wholesale and retail actors can influence upstream and downstream handling of food and thus help lessen the amount of food getting thrown away,” said Robert van Otterdijk, FAO Agro-Industry Officer.

Food loss and waste occurs all along the supply chain and every actor has a contribution to make. At wholesale and retail level, the causes of food loss and waste include seasonal fluctuations in the supply of fresh food, changes in consumer demand, inappropriate sizes or packaging, visual defects or damage to a food item or the packaging, aesthetical considerations for fresh produce, or a lack of consumer understanding of the date markings.

According to the latest assessments, the wholesale and retail sector is responsible for about 13 percent of global food waste.

During the webinar, several options for viable solutions to deal with the issue were presented, including infrastructural and logistical improvements, the adoption of innovative technological solutions, redistribution of unsold food through online channels, training, awareness-raising and food-collection campaigns, transforming food waste into animal feed or energy, and the strong collaboration of industry actors.

The issue of food loss and waste is reflected clearly in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Specifically, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 aims to halve the per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels, and reduce food loss along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030.

The webinar is part of a series of food loss and waste-themed webinars that aim to explore options to reduce food loss and waste along the whole food supply chain, with the first two sessions addressing harvest and post-harvest operations, and food processing and packaging.

30 July 2021, Budapest, Hungary