Australia is "wasting" 207 kg food per person per year: report

Melbourne might be a city well-known for its vibrant restaurant and fine dining scene, but research has also revealed that edible food wasting is very serious here.

A new report published by the Foodprint Melbourne project revealed Melburnians are wasting more than 900,000 tonnes of edible food every year, or enough to feed around 2 million people for a year.

The report also found that food wastage is costing the average Australian household 1,500 U.S. dollars every year, something which could affect the sustainability of the nation's food supply in the future, while 207 kilograms of food is wasted every year by every person.

The report did say, however, that some wastage was unavoidable, as food skins and inedible parts of vegetables and meat were counted as waste, while a lot of produce never makes it past the farm gates.

"Greater Melbourne's population of around 4.37 million requires around 15,080 tonnes of food to be produced each day - approximately 3.45 kilograms per person," it said.

"This 3.45 kilograms is significantly more than the 1.2 kilograms of food physically eaten by the average Melburnian each day, as food is wasted throughout the food chain, and inedible parts are discarded.

"Our research also shows that more than 60 percent of food waste is generated before food reaches your fridge or freezer.

"Strict standards defining the shape, size and color of fresh fruit and vegetables in supermarkets can mean that a significant proportion of a crop never leaves the farm."

The report has made a number of recommendations for governments to consider, namely the aim to halve food waste across the food supply chain by 2025. Endit