Food Waste in the European Union - The Economic Utilisation of Food Co-Products - page 26

residual municipal waste, and as commercial and industrial waste. Liquid items
may be disposed of to drains and in some places macerators are used to enable
solid materials to be discharged to drains.

2.2 Causes of Food Waste
The majority of food wastage in the manufacturing sector is unavoidable. 2 This
includes the inedible parts of animals, fruit and vegetables, discarded when
produce is prepared for sale. Other sources of food waste in the manufacturing
sector include operational errors and malfunctions that lead to previously
edible food becoming waste.
Food waste is generated during distribution, storage and retail when it is not
sold in time, or prematurely spoilt due to inadequate storage or damage. Fresh
produce and products may be rejected and disposed of due to product
specification. Product specification may relate to size, blemishes and aesthetic
quality, and packaging, which may result in food products with packaging
defects discarded when the quality of the food is not compromised.
Within households and the food-service sector, large quantities of avoidable
food waste are generated. This includes food that becomes spoilt because it is
not used in time, food that is prematurely spoilt due to inadequate storage, and
food that is discarded due to consumer preferences or because excess food has
been prepared.

d n 9 r 3 n g | 5

3 .

2.3 Quantities of Food Waste Generated
The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK) estimates that
globally 1.3 billion tonnes of edible food waste are generated each year across
food supply chains, including food losses during agricultural production,
postharvesting handling and storage, and processing, and food wasted in
distribution and consumption. 3 This is equivalent to around one-third of food
produced for human consumption. On a per capita basis, much more food
waste is generated in industrialised countries than in developing countries. In
Europe and North America per capita food waste is estimated at 280-300 kg
per year, whilst in sub-Saharan Africa and South and South East Asia it is
120-170 kg per year. However, food waste as a percentage of production is
similar across all regions.
The best estimate of food-waste generation in the European Union is
provided by the Bio Intelligence Service on behalf of the European Commission
and is based on EUROSTAT waste statistics from 2006 and some national
studies. 2 The study estimates that the European Union generates around 90
million tonnes of food waste per year, including food waste from manufacture,
retail, and households, excluding waste generated in agriculture. This is
equivalent to 179 kg of food waste per person per year. The same study predicts
that, based on population growth and increasing disposable incomes, food
waste in the EU could increase by around 40% by 2020 to 126million tonnes
per year, without additional prevention policy or activities.