DEFINITIONS
In this working paper, “food loss and waste” refers to the
edible parts of plants and animals produced or harvested
for human consumption but not ultimately consumed
by people. It represents a decrease in the mass, caloric,
and/or nutritional value of edible food intended for
human consumption at any stage in the food value chain.
Although the terms loss and waste are used in conjunction
throughout this working paper, they have distinct drivers
and, as a result, distinct solutions. “Food loss” refers to
food that spills, spoils, incurs an abnormal reduction in
quality such as bruising or wilting, or otherwise gets lost
before it reaches the consumer.4
Food loss typically occurs
at the production, storage, processing and distribution
stages of the food value chain, and is the unintended result
of agricultural processes or technical limitations in storage,
infrastructure, packaging, and/or marketing.
“Food waste” refers to food that is of good quality and fit
for human consumption but that does not get consumed
because it is discarded—either before or after it spoils.5
Food waste typically, but not exclusively, occurs at the
retail and consumption stages in the food value chain and
is the result of negligence or a conscious decision to throw
food away.
Food loss and waste apply to food products in the value
chain starting from the moment that:6
Crops are ripe in the field, plantation, or orchard;
Animals are on the farm—in the field, sty, pen, shed, or
coop—ready for slaughter;7
Milk has been drawn from the udder;
Aquaculture fish are mature in the pond; and
Wild fish have been caught in the net.