Approximately 45% of all fresh produce is either lost or wasted annually, according to FAO. It is to the benefit of all of the stakeholders—farmers, handlers, processors, traders and governments - to work on avoiding harvest and post-harvest losses as a solution to producing food for a growing population. State-of-the-art sensors and accessible data analysis are a key contributor to solving these food problems.

Food loss vs. Food waste

Food loss is the reduction in quantity and quality of food in the production and supply chain from producers to the market. Food waste, on the other hand, happens at the market and consumer level when food is not purchased, when it is thrown away before it reaches the table, or when it remains untouched in the consumer's home.

When food is lost or wasted, it does not just produce a financial impact, but also negatively affects other valuable resources such as land, water, and energy used to produce the food. As agriculture is a major polluter, one-third of pollution from this sector satisfies no real purpose. Food waste alone is estimated to contribute 8% of global carbon emissions, and this doesn’t cover emissions due to food loss!

Food loss occurs in both developed and developing countries, though the amounts can differ and range from 17-39%, respectively. This is exponentially regrettable, considering how much of the world's population lack food security. Fruits and vegetables, along with meat, are the important components that provide essential nutrients and vitamins which could prevent malnutrition.

Fresh produce also happens to be more prone to food loss and food waste, as it is perishable. 56% of vegetables and 61% of fruits are wasted after harvest. Fresh produce is lost at pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest stages for various reasons.

The Cost of Food Loss and Waste

Food loss and waste refer to food and its associated inedible parts that are intended to be consumed by people, but that leaves the supply chain somewhere between being ready for harvest and being consumed. It includes food that is not eaten by consumers and is disposed of by them.

The direct economic losses associated with food loss and waste are estimated at $1.25 trillion. Further to this, lost and wasted food is responsible for an estimated eight percent of greenhouse gas emissions, consumes a quarter of all water used by agriculture, and wastes an area of land the size of China.

Strategies for reducing food loss and waste are central to transforming food and land use systems because of their potential impact. They could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the pressure on climate, water and land resources, and create financial savings for farmers, companies and households. They could also help to deliver nutrition-sensitive food security. For example, a 35 percent reduction in post-harvest loss of tomatoes in the Kano state of Nigeria, where 42 percent of children are Vitamin A deficient, would result in additional availability of Vitamin A for up to 1.1 million children a day.

The UN’s “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDG12) sets a 2030 target of “halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses”. In line with the targets set out in the 2019 World Resources Report, Creating a Sustainable Food Future, this report adopts a lower level of ambition, namely a 25 percent reduction in food loss and waste by 2050. But it is conceivable that technological advances, such as technologies to extend the shelf life of perishable food and climate-smart cold storage such as PostHarvest’s Environmental Sensor, could enable greater reductions.

Minimising Postharvest Food Loss

There is a 16-36% post-harvest loss of fruits every year due to mechanical, microbial, and physiological causes. There are various stages after harvest where things can go wrong, such as handling, storage, packing, or transportation:

Handling: Processing involves washing, trimming, and packaging vegetables and fruits to clean them, remove diseased or damaged parts, and improve appearance.

Grading: Fresh produce is sorted according to their shape, size, and colour into different grades. There is considerable loss of produce at this stage since many fruits and vegetables are rejected for being “ugly.” Government and supermarket policies, as well as consumer awareness, could end food loss at this stage.

Packaging: Good protective packing material can prevent mechanical and physiological damage during transport and storage. Produce can then retain appearance, taste, and freshness.

Storage and Ripening: Precooling can reduce up to 6% loss in weight during storage of both fruits and vegetables. Many climacteric fruits like apples are harvested before ripening, which happens during storage in ripening rooms. Temperature, humidity, levels of oxygen(O2), carbon dioxide (CO2), and ethylene are closely monitored regularly to provide the best conditions to extend storage and for proper ripening.

Wall Mounted devices like PostHarvest’s Environmental Sensor can be used within storage facilities to collect data on environmental conditions. By improving storage, quality of fresh produce can be maintained and storage time extended.