Rome, Italy – With one in five deaths associated with poor-quality diets, a policy brief launched today urges policymakers to prioritize the reduction of food loss and waste as a way of improving people’s access to nutritious and healthy food.

The brief, "Preventing nutrient loss and waste across the food system: Policy actions for high-quality diets", points out that poor-quality diets are now a greater public health threat than malaria, tuberculosis or measles. Meanwhile, approximately one third of all the food produced for human consumption never reaches the consumer’s plate or bowl.

The brief was prepared by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

It notes how foods such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, dairy products, meats and seafood are rich in nutrients, but are also highly perishable and therefore susceptible to losses throughout the food system. The numbers are staggering: each year more than half of all the fruits and vegetables produced globally are lost or wasted. A vital source of protein, around 25% of all the meat produced – equivalent to 75 million cows – is not consumed.

Panel member and FAO Director-General of FAO, José Graziano da Silva, said: “To tackle all forms of malnutrition and promote healthy diets, we need to put in place food systems that increase the availability, affordability and consumption of fresh, nutrient-rich food for everyone. Taking specific actions to reduce the losses and waste of fresh and nutritious food is a fundamental part of this effort.”

Click here for more info, and to access the Policy Brief.