The meat sector plays a fundamental role in reducing food waste, a problem that affects the entire value chain. According to data from the Panel on Food Waste in Spanish Households, prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and published on September 22, 2020 based on data from 2019, Spanish companies in the food industry are increasingly aware of the impact of food waste in economic, social and environmental terms, and the need to stop it.
Thus, about 71% have a defined internal strategy to fight against food waste, 61% promote good practices aimed at preventing or reducing waste at the source, and 51% promote joint actions with their suppliers to reduce it.
This same study quantifies that in 2019 1,352 million kg / l of food and beverages were thrown away (4.7% of the food we buy), of which 1,146 million correspond to unprocessed products and 206 million to dishes cooked. Compared to 2018, more raw products have been wasted (mainly fruits, vegetables and vegetables), but the waste of cooked dishes (to a greater extent legumes, soups, creams and purees, and meat and rice dishes) has decreased.
José Friguls, president of ANAFRIC, assesses the Panel’s data and points out that “Spanish companies in the food industry, especially those in the meat sector, are increasingly aware of the impact of waste in economic, social and environmental terms of food, and the need to stop it. That is why we are always working towards greater awareness in the sector, because waste is pollution and mistreatment of the planet, which we cannot consent to “.
Who wastes the most?
- About 8 out of 10 Spanish households admit to wasting food, where family households with couples up to 49 years old, with small or middle-aged children stand out. For their part, the households of young couples without children or retired people do not waste food.
- Income is another factor that influences food waste, in such a way that lower and lower-middle class families waste the least, while higher socioeconomic classes manage food less well at home.
The international scientific journal ‘Nutrients’ has also reached the same conclusion. Vegetables and vegetables (12%), precooked (10%), cereals and derivatives (10%), oils and fats (10%) and legumes (10%), were the groups of foods and beverages that they contributed to a greater extent to generate food waste.
