Assessment of nutritional loss with food waste and factors governing this waste at household level in Pakistan

One third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted meanwhile one billion people on the earth are suffering from hunger and malnutrition, making food waste a major sustainability issue. Food appropriate for human consumption but ultimately ends up unconsumed or discarded is called food waste. Reducing food waste can bring down the food costs, benefit the environment, and improve food security and human health as food comprised of various nutrients which are vital for disease prevention. Food and nutrition waste estimation is essential to provide awareness among the general public regarding importance of food which is thrown away as waste and to develop policies on regional and global level to reduce food waste or redirect surplus food to needy people before it going to waste. The current study aimed to (i) determine the level of food waste and its composition by types (ii) calculate the nutritional losses from food wastes and (iii) examine the causes of food waste at household level in tehsil Kahror Pakka, Pakistan. To explore these objectives, food waste generated during 24 h was collected from fifty one households, sorted and weighed into different types such as fruit, vegetables, cooked food, processed food, meat including fish and poultry and dairy products. Maximum food waste was associated with cooked food (35.02 g) whereas, minimum waste was reported by dairy products (1.98 g) per capita per day. Nutritional value of food waste was estimated by comparing the values of each food item with food composition table for Pakistan. Total amount of household food waste represented an estimated value of energy (54.42 kcal), protein (2.61 g), lipids (2.21 g), carbohydrates (10.58 g), fiber (0.75 g), β-carotene (275.2 mcg), and vitamin A (96.83RE), calcium (Ca) (22.49 mg) and phosphorous (P) (37.11 mg) per capita per day. Energy losses were higher from cereals (79%) while moisture losses were higher from fruits (53%) and vegetables (69%). Approximately 2.6% of total kcal requirement (2100 kcal) of Pakistan food basket was wasted with food waste. In a survey, most respondents reported that cooked food is wasted as it looks bad (50%), misplanning of meal (40%) and cooked improperly (36%). Processed food is mostly wasted due to unawareness of respondents regarding labeling dates (50%).