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Reduction of Food Losses and Waste in Europe and Central Asia for Improved Food Security and Agrifood Chain Efficiency

Year of publication 2014

Pages 85 p.

Author Themen, D.

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) This study represents one of a number of UN/FAO-supported research initiatives on the subject of food losses and waste. It builds on the ground breaking research and conclusions of the Global Food Losses Study commissioned in 2011 from the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, updating its data and consolidating its analysis of the impact of food losses and waste on the Europe and Central Asia region. Drawing on research conducted into food losses and waste in the Europe and Central Asi a region and more broadly, the sections below present the context and importance of addressing the issue of food losses and waste in the region, review the ongoing debate in this relation and current national and multi-national initiatives to reduce losses and waste. Finally the study used recently conducted country studies commissioned by UN/FAO in two middle-income countries (Turkey and Ukraine) and one low-income country (Armenia) to provide an overall assessment of the levels of food loss a nd waste in the Europe and Central Asia region, as well as to analyse critical loss points and provide present policy options to reduce levels of loss and waste. The study focuses on low and middle income countries of the region since high-income ECA states, primarily EU members have both already conducted extensive research and developed programs for loss and waste reduction and are also served directly by the major ongoing FUSIONS project in this sphere. This study was informed by in-depth a nalysis of priority agri-food chains in the region, selected on the basis of their economic importance, employment generation, contribution to foreign exchange and contribution to food security. At least one agri-food chain was selected for analysis from each of the following commodity groupings: cereals, fruits and vegetables, meat and dairy. Critical loss point analysis was then conducted for each of five agri-food chain phases, i.e. agricultural production, post-harvest handling and storage, processing and packaging, distribution, and consumption.

Language English

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