State of the knowledge on food waste in the world

Food waste refers to the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers, and consumers. Since the United Nations have made halving food waste a Sustainable Development Goals target, food waste has captured public attention. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that up to 811 million people were hungry in 2020, and with a staggering 3 billion people that cannot afford a healthy diet (FAO, 2021), therefore the reduction of food waste becomes even more important. By reducing waste, we can improve food availability and food access without increasing agricultural inputs, scarce natural resources, or affecting our environment more. However, waste can only be reduced if we understand its causes. In developed countries they are more related to consumer over consumption behavior and lifestyle, to legislation, to business management and economies setting standards which could by itself end creating big waste. In developing countries, they are linked to inappropriate packaging, unpurchased holiday foods, inadequate storage, and overstocking, mishandling of products by (potential) consumers, and to technology which is not design to minimize waste. Up to today there is very limited evidence of impacts of interventions to reduce waste, and even less on their cost effectiveness. The introduction of technologies, innovative solutions, new working methods, and good practices to manage food quality and reduce food waste are essential to progress on the achievement of SDG 12.3.1 of halving food waste by 2030.