Global food losses and food waste : extent, causes and prevention

This publication is based on studies carried out from August 2010 to January 2011 by The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology (SIK) on request from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The two studies on global food losses (one for high/medium-income countries and one for low income countries) have been carried out to serve as a basis for the international congress Save Food!, 16-17 May 2011, at the international packaging industry fair Interpack2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Save Food! has been co-organized by Interpack2011 and FAO. Save Food! aims at awareness raising on global food losses and waste, and on the impact of these on poverty and hunger in the world, as well as on climate change and on the use of natural resources.