Food losses and waste – characteristics of the problem and ways to counteract the scale of the phenomenon

Abstract

Introduction. Food losses and waste are a serious problem of the 21st century. The amount of food waste currently exceeds the food needs of countries struggling with the inability to meet the nutritional needs of the population, in especially developing countries. Consumers consider food waste to be a serious problem both ethically and socially, as well as environmentally and economically, but despite this, nearly 1/3 of global food production is wasted.

Aim. The aim of the work was to present the scale of the problem of food losses and waste and ways to reduce the scale of the problem.

Material and methods. The method used within this study consists of the analysis of literature on the topic of natural feeding.

Overview. The problem of food waste is diverse and related to numerous factors, ranging from the level of income, technical and technological limitations related to infrastructure and transport, to consumer behavior and attitudes. A large part of food loss and waste takes place when purchasing food products. Buying too much food may generate losses due to the expiry date. The second serious problem related to overproduction of food is the preparation of too large portions of food that cannot be consumed, resulting in wastage.

Conclusions. An important factor determining beneficial changes in the field of reducing food losses and waste should be education on increasing awareness of food safety and presenting the possibilities of rational food management.