Food waste within food supply chains: quantification and potential for change to 2050
Open accessAbstract
Food waste in the global food supply chain is reviewed in relation to the prospects for feeding a population of nine billion by 2050. Different definitions of food waste with respect to the complexities of food supply chains (FSCs)are discussed. An international literature review found a dearth of data on food waste and estimates varied widely; those for post-harvest losses of grain in developing countries might be overestimated. As much of the post-harvest loss data for developing countries was collected over 30 years ago, current global losses cannot be quantified. A significant gap exists in the understanding of the food waste implications of the rapid development of 'BRIC' economies. The limited data suggest that losses are much higher at the immediate post-harvest stages in developing countries and higher for perishable foods across industrialized and developing economies alike. For affluent economies, post-consumer food waste accounts for the greatest overall losses. To supplement the fragmentary picture and to gain a forward view, interviews were conducted with international FSC experts. The analyses highlighted the scale of the problem, the scope for improved system efficiencies and the challenges of affecting behavioural change to reduce post-consumer waste in affluent populations.
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Four main criteria affect food waste during consumption: household size and composition, income, culture, and demographic factors.
“According to Parfitt et al. [24], four main criteria affect FW during this stage: household size and composition, income, culture, and demographic factors.”
From Understanding Food Loss and Waste—Why Are We Losing and Wasting Food? (2019) · cites this paper as [24]
At the final stages of the food supply chain such as during retail and final consumption, the term food waste is applied and generally relates closer to behavioral issues.
“At the final stages of the FSC such as during retail and final consumption, the term food waste is applied and generally relates closer to behavioral issues (The Government Office for Science, 2011a; Parfitt et al., 2010).”
From The food waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food waste (2014) · cites this paper as Parfitt et al., 2010
Food is lost or wasted throughout the food supply chain, from the initial stage of agriculture to the final consumption stage.
“Food is lost or wasted throughout the FSC, from the initial stage of agriculture to the final consumption stage (Parfitt et al., 2010; Smil, 2004).”
From The food waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food waste (2014) · cites this paper as Parfitt et al., 2010
Waste affects the entire food system from production to post harvest, including inside the home.
“Waste affects the entire food system from production to post harvest (including inside the home) (102).”
From Food Consumption and its Impact on Cardiovascular Disease: Importance of Solutions Focused on the Globalized Food System (2015) · cites this paper as [102]
The FAO estimates that one-third of all food produced for human consumption globally is wasted before it is consumed, which has both social and environmental costs that have been precisely measured in the US.
“It is also noteworthy that the FAO estimates that one-third of all food produced for human consumption globally is wasted before it is consumed, which has both social and environmental costs that have been precisely measured in the US (100–102).”
From Food Consumption and its Impact on Cardiovascular Disease: Importance of Solutions Focused on the Globalized Food System (2015) · cites this paper as [102]
Many food wastes can be considered a valuable source of nutrients with the potential to be processed into products to feed the world's increasing population.
“Alternatively, many food wastes can be considered as a valuable source of nutrients with the potential to be processed into products to feed the world's increasing population [14, 26].”
From Progress towards Sustainable Utilisation and Management of Food Wastes in the Global Economy (2016) · cites this paper as [14]
The amount of waste in the household has grown relentlessly over time with the increase in disposable incomes and consequent change in lifestyles.
“With the increase in disposable incomes, and the consequent change in lifestyles, the amount of waste in the household has grown relentlessly over time (Parfitt et al., 2010).”
From Domestic food practices: A study of food management behaviors and the role of food preparation planning in reducing waste (2018) · cites this paper as Parfitt et al., 2010
Urbanization requires extensions of food supply systems.
“Urbanization requires extensions of food supply systems (Parfitt et al. 2010).”
From Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development (2016) · cites this paper as Parfitt et al. 2010
Disconnection from food means people have no sense of what their food is made of or how it was produced.
“This promotes disconnections from food (Parfitt et al. 2010), so that people have no sense of what their food is made of or how it was produced (Fischler 1999).”
From Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development (2016) · cites this paper as Parfitt et al. 2010
There are few peer-reviewed articles on national food loss and waste for developed countries and the estimates that do exist vary widely.
“There are few peer-reviewed articles on national food loss and waste for developed countries and the estimates that do exist vary widely [11].”
From Estimated fresh produce shrink and food loss in U.S. supermarkets (2015) · cites this paper as [11]
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BackgroundKoivupuro, H., Hartikainen, H., Silvennoinen, K., Katajajuuri, J., Heikintalo, N., Reinikainen, A., & Jalkanen, L. (2012) · International Journal of Consumer Studies · doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.2011.01080.x · Cited by 507 · see citing works
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“Waste affects the entire food system from production to post-harvest (including inside the home) (102).”
BackgroundHousehold food waste: drivers and potential intervention points for design – an extensive review
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“…some literature on consumer food waste has been summarized within recent reviews and reports (E.g. Aschemann-Witzel et al. 2015; Canali 2014; Parfitt et al., 2010; Thyberg & Tonjes 2016; van Geffen et al. 2016), there is no extensive review of household food waste drivers found that is…”
BackgroundLal, R., Bouma, J., Brevik, E. C., Dawson, L. A., Field, D. J., Glaser, B., Hatano, R., Hartemink, A. E., Kosaki, T., Lascelles, B., et al. (2021) · Geoderma Regional · doi:10.1016/j.geodrs.2021.e00398 · Cited by 523 · see citing works
The future of waste management in smart and sustainable cities: A review and concept paper
Esmaeilian, B., Wang, B., Lewis, K. E., Duarte, F., Ratti, C., & Behdad, S. (2018) · Waste Management · doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2018.09.047 · Cited by 506 · see citing works
Food security and sustainability: can one exist without the other?
Berry, E. M., Dernini, S., Burlingame, B., Meybeck, A., & Conforti, P. (2015) · Public Health Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s136898001500021x · Cited by 491 · see citing works
“The left side shows the path of food from production to consumption (minus food losses and waste (51) ) to food security and the right that of sustainability.”
Transparency in food supply chains: A review of enabling technology solutions
Astill, J., Dara, R. A., Campbell, M., Farber, J. M., Fraser, E., Sharif, S., & Yada, R. Y. (2019) · Trends in Food Science & Technology · doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2019.07.024 · Cited by 488 · see citing works
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Food waste management in hospitality operations: A critical review
Filimonau, V., & de Coteau, D. (2018) · Tourism Management · doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2018.10.009 · Cited by 502 · see citing works
Bioactives from fruit processing wastes: Green approaches to valuable chemicals
Banerjee, J., Singh, R., Vijayaraghavan, R., MacFarlane, D., Patti, A. F., & Arora, A. (2017) · Food Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.12.093 · Cited by 496 · see citing works
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“From early on it was noted that losses and waste should be reduced all along the global food supply chain and in the household, in particular (Eberle & Fels, 2016; FAO, 2017a; Kummu et al., 2012; Parfitt, Barthel, & Macnaughton, 2010; Ventour, 2008) .”
Priefer, C., Jörissen, J., & Bräutigam, K.-R. (2016) · Resources, Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.03.004 · Cited by 434 · see citing works
Application of biochar from food and wood waste as green admixture for cement mortar
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“Increase in the generation of foodwaste has become a global trend in many industrialized countries (Parfitt et al., 2010).”
BackgroundIPCC reasons for concern regarding climate change risks
O’Neill, B. C., Oppenheimer, M., Warren, R., Stéphane Hallegatte, A., Kopp, R. E., Pörtner, H., Scholes, R. J., Birkmann, J., Foden, W., Licker, R., et al. (2017) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/nclimate3179 · Cited by 427 · see citing works
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“Trends suggest that domestic food waste is a greater issue in affluent urban communities supported by global supply chains (Parfitt et al., 2010; Thyberg and Tonjes, 2016).”
BackgroundInfluentialDhir, A., Talwar, S., Kaur, P., & Malibari, A. (2020) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122861 · Cited by 390 · see citing works
“However, others have distinguished between the two, where “ food loss ” represents food waste at the start of the value-add chain, while “ food waste ” refers to food lost at the end of the chain (Par fi tt et al., 2010).”
Kelemu, S., Niassy, S., Torto, B., Fiaboe, K. K. M., Affognon, H., Tonnang, H. E. Z., Maniania, N. K., & Ekesi, S. (2015) · Journal of Insects as Food and Feed · doi:10.3920/jiff2014.0016 · Cited by 434 · see citing works
“…class incomes have pushed for new consumer needs and extended value chains that now comprise sorting, grading, processing, packaging, distribution, value addition and retailing as integral undertakings (Parfitt et al. , 2010) that must be addressed in the utilisation of insects for food and feed.”
Mak, T. M. W., Xiong, X., Tsang, D. C. W., Yu, I. K. M., & Poon, C. S. (2019) · Bioresource Technology · doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2019.122497 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
Food waste in the Swiss food service industry – Magnitude and potential for reduction
Betz, A., Buchli, J., Göbel, C., & Müller, C. (2014) · Waste Management · doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2014.09.015 · Cited by 419 · see citing works
Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems
Timmermans, A. J. M., Ambuko, J., Belik, W., & Huang, J. (2014) · Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling · Cited by 406 · see citing works
Time-temperature abuse in the food cold chain: Review of issues, challenges, and recommendations
Ndraha, N., Hsiao, H., Vlajic, J. V., Yang, M.-F., & Lin, H. V. (2018) · Food Control · doi:10.1016/j.foodcont.2018.01.027 · Cited by 416 · see citing works
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“It is also likely that they continue to retain the same attitudes and behaviors to food that they had all their lives in the age of retirement (similar [45]).”
BackgroundVerghese, K., Lewis, H., Lockrey, S., & Williams, H. (2015) · Packaging Technology and Science · doi:10.1002/pts.2127 · Cited by 390 · see citing works
“Food ‘loss’ occurs during agricultural production, post-harvest handling or processing, whereas food ‘waste’ occurs at the end of the food chain (during distribution, retail sale and final consumption).(14) The reasons for food loss and waste are many and complex, e.”
BackgroundOpening the black box of food waste reduction
Garrone, P., Melacini, M., & Perego, A. (2014) · Food Policy · doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.03.014 · Cited by 394 · see citing works
Food waste management innovations in the foodservice industry
Martin-Rios, C., Demen-Meier, C., Gössling, S., & Cornuz, C. (2018) · Waste Management · doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2018.07.033 · Cited by 386 · see citing works
Phosphorus: a limiting nutrient for humanity?
Elser, J. J. (2012) · Current Opinion in Biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2012.03.001 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
“Other large targets include losses from livestock rearing and dairy operations, post-harvest crop losses, and waste of finished food products (40–50% of food is wasted in both the developed and developing world, but for different reasons; see [28 ]).”
BackgroundWater loss of fresh fruit: Influencing pre-harvest, harvest and postharvest factors
Lufu, R., Ambaw, A., & Opara, U. L. (2020) · Scientia Horticulturae · doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109519 · Cited by 376 · see citing works
Identifying factors that promote consumer behaviours causing expired domestic food waste
Farr‐Wharton, G., Foth, M., & Choi, J. H. (2014) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.1488 · Cited by 367 · see citing works
“Food waste presents a threat to the environment because of greenhouse gas contributions and the wasted resources used to produce, process, market, transport and refrigerate food (Fischer et al., 1995; Godfray et al., 2010; Parfitt et al., 2010; Parry et al., 2004; Rosenzweig and Parry, 1994).”
BackgroundSmart Packaging: Opportunities and Challenges
Schaefer, D., & Cheung, W. M. (2018) · Procedia CIRP · doi:10.1016/j.procir.2018.03.240 · Cited by 370 · see citing works
Food waste to biochars through pyrolysis: A review
Elkhalifa, S., Al‐Ansari, T. A., Mackey, H. R., & McKay, G. (2019) · Resources Conservation and Recycling · doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.01.024 · Cited by 375 · see citing works
China’s food loss and waste embodies increasing environmental impacts
Xue, L., Liu, X., Lu, S., Cheng, G., Hu, Y., Liu, J., Dou, Z., Cheng, S., & Liu, G. (2021) · Nature Food · doi:10.1038/s43016-021-00317-6 · Cited by 372 · see citing works
Friedman, N., & Ormiston, J. (2021) · Technological Forecasting and Social Change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121403 · Cited by 368 · see citing works
Pretreatment of food waste for methane and hydrogen recovery: A review
Karthikeyan, O. P., Trably, É., Mehariya, S., Bernet, N., Wong, J. W. C., & Carrère, H. (2017) · Bioresource Technology · doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2017.09.105 · Cited by 358 · see citing works
Food system strategies for preventing micronutrient malnutrition
Miller, B. D. D., & Welch, R. M. (2013) · Food Policy · doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.06.008 · Cited by 366 · see citing works
“It is estimated that currently 50% of the global population lives in cities and that this will grow to 70% by 2050 (Parfitt et al., 2010).”
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Reducing food waste: an investigation on the behaviour of Italian youths
Principato, L., Secondi, L., & Pratesi, C. A. (2015) · British Food Journal · doi:10.1108/bfj-10-2013-0314 · Cited by 359 · see citing works
Consumers’ Perspective on Circular Economy Strategy for Reducing Food Waste
Borrello, M., Caracciolo, F., Lombardi, A., Pascucci, S., & Cembalo, L. (2017) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su9010141 · Cited by 369 · see citing works
“Since circular supply chain models, or so-called closed loops, could be a method to reduce food waste from its present high levels [17,22,23], consumers could contribute by returning their household food waste to retailers to let it re-circulate, or by purchasing circular food products.”
BackgroundFood waste and the food-energy-water nexus: A review of food waste management alternatives
Kibler, K. M., Reinhart, D. R., Hawkins, C. V., Motlagh, A. M., & Wright, J. (2018) · Waste Management · doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2018.01.014 · Cited by 361 · see citing works
Cropland expansion in the United States produces marginal yields at high costs to wildlife
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Exploring the biophysical option space for feeding the world without deforestation
Erb, K.-H., Lauk, C., Kastner, T., Mayer, A., Theurl, M. C., & Haberl, H. (2016) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms11382 · Cited by 352 · see citing works
The new geography of food security: exploring the potential of urban food strategies
Sonnino, R. (2014) · Geographical Journal · doi:10.1111/geoj.12129 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
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The role of smart packaging system in food supply chain
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Phosphorus resources, their depletion and conservation, a review
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This apple is too ugly for me!
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Energy Intensity of Agriculture and Food Systems
Pelletier, N. L., Audsley, E., Brodt, S. B., Garnett, T., Henriksson, P. J. G., Kendall, A. M., Kramer, K. J., Murphy, D. J., Nemecek, T., & Troell, M. F. (2011) · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-081710-161014 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
“However, low-cost energy-efficient cool storage systems can and have been developed and implemented to minimize losses (96).”
BackgroundInfluentialGarnett, T. (2013) · Journal of Cleaner Production · doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.07.045 · Cited by 339 · see citing works
“Wasted food represents not only a waste of embedded GHG emissions and a threat to food security but, often, a financial inefficiency (Parfitt et al., 2010; WRAP, 2009; UNEP, 2009).”
BackgroundValue-added chemicals from food supply chain wastes: State-of-the-art review and future prospects
Xiong, X., Yu, I. K. M., Tsang, D. C. W., Bolan, N. S., Ok, Y. S., Igalavithana, A. D., Kirkham, M. B., Kim, K., & Vikrant, K. (2019) · Chemical Engineering Journal · doi:10.1016/j.cej.2019.121983 · Cited by 338 · see citing works
Cutting Food Waste through Cooperation along the Food Supply Chain
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“Other countries like the UK, the United States or the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) [4,8,12–19] have already published several studies on this issue, so comparisons are drawn between these studies and the results in Section 3.”
BackgroundFood waste paradox: antecedents of food disposal in low income households
Porpino, G., Parente, J., & Wansink, B. (2015) · International Journal of Consumer Studies · doi:10.1111/ijcs.12207 · Cited by 334 · see citing works
“…for grocery shopping) Koivupuro et al. (2012) Planning and negotiating the purchase No or incorrect purchase and meals planning Schneider (2008), Parfitt et al. (2010), Evans (2011), Ganglbauer et al. (2013), Stefan et al. (2013) Children in the family Terpstra et al. (2005) Poor home economics…”
BackgroundInfluential
- Authors
- Parfitt, J., Barthel, M., & Macnaughton, S.
- Affiliations
- Resource Futures, Bristol, UK 1
- Wrap (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Parfitt, Julian
- Venue
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2010-09-27
- Volume
- 365
- Issue
- 1554
- Pages
- 3065-3081
- ISSN
- 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-2970
- PMC
- PMC2935112
- OpenAlex
- W2138803696
- Cited by
- 3,197
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 148 · 2025: 229 · 2024: 233 · 2023: 278 · 2022: 286 · 2021: 330 · 2020: 359 · 2019: 310 · 2018: 254 · 2017: 209 · 2016: 166 · 2015: 136 · 2014: 116 · 2013: 73 · 2012: 46
- FWCI
- 5.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Agricultural and Food Production Studies
- Keywords
- food waste, food supply chain, post-harvest losses, global food security, developing countries, BRIC countries, behavior change, food loss reduction
- MeSH terms
- Agriculture, Food Supply, Humans
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