Food is lost or wasted every day in catering establishments, retail and wholesale outlets and households. The largest share of food waste is generated in households – around 53%, but a significant amount of food waste is also wasted in processing plants (around 19%), catering establishments (around 12%), agriculture (around 10%), wholesale and retail trade (around 5%). The largest amount of food waste thrown away in the world each year is still edible fruit, vegetables and root vegetables.
8 tips are recommended for how to handle food products so that as little as possible ends up in the trash.
1. Plan
This is one of the simplest and most effective ways to combat food waste. Most often, people go to the store without planning their shopping list, which leads to buying more unnecessary products that remain uneaten and eventually end up in the trash.
2. Use the freezer
If you have prepared too much food and have not eaten it, you can freeze it and keep it for later use. You can also freeze fruits, berries and vegetables when they are in season. These are perishable products, and once harvested, you don't always have time to use them all.
3. Storage temperature
It is important to find out the best temperature to store certain foods. When stored at the right temperature, they will last much longer.
4. Produce more
By preparing several meals at once, you save more energy and water than by preparing a different meal each time. You can store prepared lunches in the refrigerator for several days.
5. Portion control
Pay attention to how much food you and your family eat. It is better not to overload your plates to avoid leftovers, which are often simply thrown away.
6. Know what's in the fridge
Every time you go to the store, check what food you already have at home. People tend to forget what food they already have at home, so they buy more. This creates a surplus that they don't have time to use before the expiration date. This is the biggest source of food waste.
7. Donate food
If you find that you have too much food that you won't use and will have to throw away, donate it to those less fortunate. This way, you'll do a good deed for others and at the same time, food won't be kept at home until it expires and eventually thrown away.
8. Compost
You can throw potato and carrot peelings, coffee grounds, and eggshells into one pile to make compost. Compost is an indispensable component of soil mixtures for seedlings. It is a suitable addition to soil mixtures for planting indoor and balcony plants.