Food loss and waste
Food loss and waste: definitions, how much is lost from farm to fork, India's post-harvest losses, climate costs, SDG 12.3 and solutions at each stage.
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While hundreds of millions of people go hungry, a large share of the food the world produces never gets eaten. According to the UN, about 13% of food is lost between harvest and retail, and a further 19% of the food available to consumers is wasted in shops, restaurants and homes. In 2022 that waste alone amounted to about 1.05 billion tonnes. Lost and wasted food also wastes the land, water, fertiliser, labour and energy used to grow it, and it is linked to about 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Reducing food loss and waste is one of the few strategies that can improve food security, farmers' incomes and the climate at the same time. It is the subject of Sustainable Development Goal target 12.3: to halve per-capita food waste at retail and consumer level by 2030, and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains.
Loss versus waste
FAO and UNEP use two related terms:
- Food loss: a decrease in the quantity or quality of food from harvest up to, but not including, retail. Causes include pests, spillage, spoilage in storage, damage in transport and rejection by processors. It is measured by FAO's Food Loss Index.
- Food waste: food discarded at retail, by food service such as restaurants and canteens, and by households. It is measured by UNEP's Food Waste Index.
Pre-harvest losses, such as yield lost to pests or weather, are usually counted separately, under crop protection.
How much, and where?
- Losses are proportionally higher in low- and middle-income countries. Poor storage, lack of cold chains, weak roads and markets, and post-harvest pests take a heavy toll on perishables such as fruits, vegetables, fish and milk.
- Waste happens everywhere. UNEP's 2024 report found that household food waste is similar across high- and middle-income countries, at around 80 kg per person per year on average. About 60% of all food waste comes from households.
- India's household food waste was estimated at about 55 kg per person per year.
India's post-harvest losses
A study by NABCONS for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (2022) estimated harvest and post-harvest losses of:
| Commodity group | Loss (% of production) |
|---|---|
| Cereals | about 4–6% |
| Pulses | about 6–7% |
| Oilseeds | about 3–7% |
| Fruits | about 6–15% |
| Vegetables | about 5–12% |
| Milk, meat, fish and eggs | about 1–5% |
The total value of losses was estimated at about ₹1.5 lakh crore a year. Perishables account for a large share, despite being a smaller share of tonnage.
Losses that add up along a chain
A trader buys 100 kg of tomatoes at the farm gate. The chain loses 8% in harvesting and field handling, 6% in transport in open trucks, 5% at the wholesale market, and 4% at the retailer. What reaches consumers is 100 × 0.92 × 0.94 × 0.95 × 0.96 ≈ 78.9 kg, so about 21% has been lost, even though no single step lost more than 8%. Crates instead of sacks, pre-cooling, shade at markets and faster sales could cut each step's losses, and the gains compound in the same way.
Causes
- On farm: harvesting at the wrong maturity, rough handling, lack of shade and sorting, rain damage to harvested grain, and pests in storage.
- Storage: damp and unsealed bags, rodents and stored-grain insects, and lack of cold storage for perishables.
- Transport and markets: poor roads, delays, overloaded vehicles, lack of crates, and market congestion.
- Processing: inefficient machinery, low capacity, and rejection of produce that does not meet cosmetic standards.
- Retail and food service: over-ordering, overstocking, strict appearance standards, large portions, and confusing date labels.
- Households: buying too much, poor storage, confusion between "use by" and "best before" dates, and leftovers thrown away.
Solutions across the chain
Reducing loss
- Better harvest practice: harvest at the right maturity, in the cool part of the day, and handle produce gently.
- Storage: hermetic bags such as PICS bags, metal silos, warehouses with fumigation and good hygiene, and solar dryers for grain.
- Cold chains: pack houses, pre-cooling, reefer vans and small solar cold rooms, such as Coolbot-type units. India's Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana supports cold chains and processing.
- Packaging: plastic crates, modified atmosphere packaging, and coatings that extend shelf life.
- Market access: farmer producer organisations, e-NAM and direct contracts that shorten chains.
- Processing surpluses into pickles, dried products, purées and juices.
Reducing waste
- Retail: better forecasting, discounts on near-expiry food, and selling "imperfect" produce.
- Clear date labels: "use by" for safety and "best before" for quality.
- Food service: smaller portions, measuring waste, and donating surplus food.
- Households: planning meals, storing food properly and using leftovers.
- Redistribution through food banks. India's FSSAI has a Save Food Share Food initiative and regulations for food donation.
The food recovery hierarchy
When food surplus or waste cannot be prevented, it should be used in this order of preference:
- prevent surplus;
- redistribute to people;
- feed animals, where safe;
- industrial uses, such as anaerobic digestion for biogas, and composting;
- landfill or incineration, as the last resort, since food in landfill produces methane.
Key points
- Food loss covers harvest to retail (about 13% of food produced); food waste covers retail, food service and households (about 19% of food available to consumers, 1.05 billion tonnes in 2022).
- Households produce about 60% of food waste. Food loss and waste are linked to about 8–10% of global GHG emissions.
- India's post-harvest losses range from about 4–6% for cereals to as much as 15% for fruits, worth around ₹1.5 lakh crore a year (NABCONS, 2022).
- Losses compound along chains; small savings at each stage add up.
- Solutions include hermetic and cold storage, crates, processing, market reform, clear date labels, redistribution and composting or biogas.
- SDG 12.3 aims to halve per-capita food waste by 2030 and to reduce losses.
What the exams ask
- Distinguish food loss and food waste.
- Give global and Indian estimates of loss and waste.
- List causes of post-harvest losses of perishables and how to reduce them.
- Explain the food recovery hierarchy.
- State SDG target 12.3.
Described in general terms: the kind of examination, not a past paper. Laisha never reproduces exam questions.
Questions people ask
Does reducing waste actually help hungry people?
Not automatically. Wasted food in a rich household does not reach a hungry family elsewhere. Reducing loss on farms and in local markets does raise farmers' incomes and local supply, and redistribution programmes can move surplus to people in need. Lower waste also reduces pressure on land, water and prices over time.
Why are fruit and vegetable losses so high in India?
These crops are perishable and are often harvested in hot weather. They are packed in sacks or loose, carried long distances without cooling, and sold through crowded markets. Cold-chain capacity, especially at the farm gate, remains limited. Seasonal gluts, when prices crash and harvesting is not worth the cost, add to the losses.
What is the difference between "use by" and "best before"?
"Use by" is a safety date for perishable foods such as milk and meat; do not eat the food after it. "Best before" is a quality date; the food is usually safe after it, but may be less fresh. Confusing the two leads to a lot of household waste.
Sources
- FAO. The State of Food and Agriculture 2019: Moving Forward on Food Loss and Waste Reduction. FAO, Rome, 2019.
- UNEP. Food Waste Index Report 2024. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, 2024.
- NABCONS. Study to Determine Post-Harvest Losses of Agri Produces in India. Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, 2022.
- Mbow, C. et al. "Food security." In Climate Change and Land: an IPCC Special Report. IPCC, 2019.
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