Why does one third of the world’s food never make it to the table and how can packaging help?
It’s not unusual in the Western world to throw away leftovers and discard slightly damaged food without a second thought. Yet when we consider that 135 million people face acute food shortages, it is clear that food waste is an issue we can no longer afford to ignore.(1) Food waste campaigner Tristram Stuart has said, “Cutting food waste is a delicious way of saving money, helping to feed the world and protect the planet.” He’s right, confronting food waste is critical to the health of people, the planet and business. It’s staggering that two billion people could be fed with the 1.3 billion tonnes of food that is lost or wasted every year – the combined population of Europe and Africa.(2) In places like Europe almost half lost is at the consumer end of the supply chain, while in developing countries a significant proportion of post-harvest food is wasted. Regardless of location, these high losses are mainly due to lack of proper storage, improper handling and inadequate packaging.(3) click read more below for the rest of the article