Food Waste Volume and Composition in the Finnish Supply Chain: Special Focus on Food Service Sector

During 2010-2012 we carried out project Foodspill, concentrating on mapping the volume and composition of food waste in the Finnish foodchain. 380 households weighed their avoidable food waste each day when they disposed of food during a two-week research period. The average annual food waste was 23 kg per person, and for households 120–160 kg per annum. For the food service sector the amount, type and origin of avoidable food waste was investigated in 72 restaurants. Restaurant workers kept a diary and weighed the food produced and wasted in a one week period. According to the results around 75–85 million kg of food was wasted annually in the Finnish food service sector. This covers about 20% of all food handled and prepared in restaurants and catering businesses. The findings also suggest that the main reason for food waste in the sector is buffet serving loss. At the end of the project we estimated that every year consumers, the food service sector, the retail sector and the food industry together waste 335-460 million kg of food in Finland; 62–85 kg per Finnish citizen.