Food waste is the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food services and consumers (SOFA, 2019). Large amounts of nutritious edible food are often unnecessarily wasted and discarded by households, restaurants and retailers.

There are many factors that influence food waste and numerous ways in which the food is wasted. These range from consumer behaviour patterns, habits and knowledge to shelf life and various marketing strategies employed by retailers to optimise profits.

Due to a lack of awareness or knowledge, consumers often shy away from fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables that do not have a desirable appearance or have become discoloured despite still maintaining their nutrition value and remaining safe to eat.

This wasted food has many profound effects on environmental sustainability, food security, rural development and economic factors such as livelihoods. As such, reducing food waste is a crucial step in achieving the world’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 2 (End Hunger) and SDG 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns).

This page provides access to a collection of relevant resources and information produced by FAO and other external parties on the various aspects related to food waste. The resources have been grouped into several categories relevant to the main theme of each article and the list of these are accessible through the links below:

• Food waste - The issues
• Reasons for food waste
• Recovery, redistribution and reuse
• Food waste management