Nearly 50 per cent of all fruits and vegetables in the European Union are wasted, according to a new report by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), although the majority of losses occur at the production rather than the consumer end.
The FAO noted that 20 per cent of losses are the result of damage during threshing or picking, insects, mechanical issues or spillage during harvesting, and crops sorted out post-harvest following quality requirements by supermarkets or other companies.
A 'lack of tuning' between supply and demand is another reason for losses, the report said, with post-harvest handling and processing, including bad storage conditions, accounting for 5.5 per cent of losses.
In the distribution chain and at supermarkets some 7.5 per cent is lost due to degredation or expiring 'best before' dates, while 13 per cent of fresh produce is lost due to consumer behaviour – throwing away still-edible fruits and vegetables or mis-stored produce.
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