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Average EU consumer wastes 16 pct of food: study

Xinhua, August 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

A new study analyzing statistics on consumer food waste estimated that Europeans waste an average of 123 kg per capita annually, or 16 percent of all food reaching consumers, said the press release of the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC).

Almost 80 percent (97 kg) is avoidable as it is edible food, said the study. Averaged for all European Union (EU) citizens, this translates into 47 million tons of avoidable food waste annually.

The JRC scientists who carried out the research calculated the water and nitrogen resources associated with the avoidable food waste, by means of the water and nitrogen footprint concepts.

The study, "Lost water and nitrogen resources due to EU consumer food waste," was based on data from six member states, including Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Romania, where consumer patterns are very different due to differing lifestyles and purchasing power.

Consumer food waste consists of food waste at the household level (which is the major part) and food waste in the catering sector (e.g. restaurants, schools). Avoidable consumer food waste of the average EU citizen is within the range of 45 to 153 kg per capita per year, said the study.

The blue water - surface and groundwater resources - footprint associated with this avoidable food waste averaged 27 liters per capita per day, which is slightly higher than EU municipal water use.

Meanwhile, the green water - or rainwater - footprint was 294 liters per capita per day, equivalent to the amount used for crop production in Spain.

Vegetables, fruit and cereals were wasted more than other food groups as they tend to have a shorter shelf-life and are often over-purchased because they are generally cheaper than other product groups like meat.

Although the amounts of meat wasted are smaller, meat accounts for the largest avoidable food waste footprint because its production is very resource intensive. In other words, a small reduction in wasted meat equates to a large reduction in wasted water and nitrogen resources.

In a world with limited resources, food security can only be achieved by a more sustainable use of resources, along with adaptations to our consumption behavior, including the reduction or, ideally, the eradication of food waste, emphasized the study. Endit