Food Loss

When you’re searching online for anything relating to food waste, chances are that food loss will also be included inside. But too often, it’s mostly used for comparison. So, what exactly is food loss and why is there so much confusion about what it is? In this article, we break down what food loss is and why it’s important to understand it. 

Food Loss: What Is It? 

To start off, food waste is food that has already gone through the supply chain to become a final product. Basically, it’s a product that is good to eat but doesn’t get consumed for various reasons, with spoilage being one of the biggest reasons. 

Food loss, on the other hand, is food that has lost its quality and value while it’s still in the production process. If at any time during the post-harvest and distribution stages the food is deemed not fit for consumption, then food is thrown away resulting in food loss. 

Though food waste is given more emphasis, it’s important to also understand food loss to some degree and why reducing it is important. When food is wasted or lost, natural resources are used and discarded with it. When organic matter decomposes, it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere, which accounts for about 8% of the world’s total global emissions. 

Solutions 

Over the years, experts within the food business industry have gathered a few ways that can help to combat food loss. 

1. Improving how weather and market information is obtained is crucial as it can help to avoid overplanting, which results in crop losses when it’s time for farmers to harvest. This aids farmers to avoid doing extra work as well as save precious time in the process. 
2. Improving food safety is also an important step to reduce the many health impacts on consumers while at the same time, reducing the amount of food being rejected. 
3. To see that the hard work of farmers is not in vain, investing in better storage systems not only helps to reduce losses when it comes time to harvest but also generates more income for farmers. 

The process of change may be slow but with the food industry already taking steps towards awareness and action, it’s only a matter of time before positive changes manifest within the industry. 

Reach out to us today to learn about Glife and how we can help you source your daily supply needs!