Refrigeration to prevent food losses.

Abstract

Globally, it is estimated that 1.3 billion tonnes of edible food are lost every year, which is one-third of the food available. Food is lost throughout various stages of the food supply chain (production and harvesting, postharvest handling, processing, distribution and consumption), but where the main losses are, differs between countries. In medium- and high-income countries, food is mostly wasted in the kitchen or at the end of the supply chain by consumers. In low-income countries, food is mainly lost during the early and middle stages of the food chain because of the drawbacks in the farming, harvesting, packaging and often a non- existing or poor cold chain. This paper gives data for the food losses in the world, with special focus on China and India. Examples of measures to reduce food losses are given, with focus on improved cold chain.