SGT University - Science to Save Food Waste

 The estimate that around 1/3 of the world’s food was lost or wasted every year. Since then, much has changed in the global perception of the problem.

Food loss and waste has indeed become an issue of great public concern. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals calls for halving per capita global food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030, as well as reducing food losses along the production and supply chains. Prepared by new loss estimates from post-harvest up to, but not including the retail stage. Food waste by retailers and consumers is not included in the initial estimates of the  tell us that around 14 percent of the world’s food is lost from post-harvest up to, but excluding the retail level.

The FWI, for which estimates calculated by the UN Environment are forthcoming, will provide global estimates on the food wasted at the retail and consumer levels.

Food loss is the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by food suppliers in the chain, excluding retailers, food service providers, and consumers.

Food loss, as reported by in the FLI, occurs from post-harvest up to, but not including, the retail level.

Food waste refers to the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers and consumers.  Food is wasted in many ways:

·         Fresh produce that deviates from what is considered optimal, for example in terms of shape, size and the color is often removed from the supply chain during sorting operations.

·         Foods that are close to, at or beyond the “best-before” date are often discarded by retailers and consumers.

·         Large quantities of wholesome edible food are often unused or leftover and discarded from household kitchens and eating establishments.

Less food loss and waste would lead to more efficient land use and better water resource management with positive impacts on climate change and livelihoods.

Collaboration with the public and private sectors and civil society. At the micro-level, FAO focuses on consumers and changing their individual attitudes, behaviors, consumption, and shopping habits related to food. This is done through education, particularly focusing on providing information on safe food handling, proper food storage in households, and understanding the “best before” date in order to prevent and reduce food waste.

Reducing food loss and waste is critical to creating a Zero Hunger world and reaching the world’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially (End Hunger) and (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns).

For many people on the planet, food is a given. But for the staggering more than 820 million people who are hungry, food is not a guarantee. FAO aims to increase respect for food, as well as for the farmers who produce it, the natural resources that go into producing it, and the people who go without it.

Role of Science to prevent it.

Apeel Sciences is a company based in Goleta, California whose edible coating product Apeel can make avocados, citrus, and other types of fruit last twice as long as usual by using a tasteless edible coating made from plant materials. The coating's formulation can be modified for strawberries, mangoes, apples, bananas, kumquats, citrus, and asparagus. It is based on the food additive.

We’ve finally arrived at a new frontier where we can use natural materials and design principles to produce food in a way that works with nature rather than against it. And it turns out plants provide all the ingredients we need to keep produce at its best from vine to the kitchen.

What Is Apeel?

Apeel is a family of plant-derived coatings that fresh food growers, suppliers, and retailers use to keep produce fresh. Produce with Apeel stays fresh two to three times longer, which promotes more sustainable growing practices, better quality food, and less food waste for everyone. For growers, suppliers, and retailers, Apeel is the only postharvest solution that creates an optimal microclimate inside every piece of produce, which leads to extended shelf life and transportability with reduced reliance on refrigeration and controlled atmosphere.

Get more at https://htm.sgtuniversity.ac.in/