According to the United Nations Environment Programme's Food Waste Index Report 2024, 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted worldwide in 2022. That is 132 kg per person per year and as much as 19 percent of the food that reaches the consumption stage.
| Sector | Million tonnes | kg per person per year | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 631 | 79 | 60% |
| Food service | 290 | 36 | 28% |
| Retail | 131 | 17 | 12% |
The report measures only food discarded in retail, food service and households. Loss in storage, transport and processing between harvest and retail is tracked separately in FAO's Food Loss Index, and that second area is where the cold chain has its direct effect. Because a product that passed cleanly through the chain reaches the shelf and the home with more life left, the cold chain also touches the waste side indirectly.
In a customer presentation, put your own spoilage rate beside the global percentage: divide the quantity discarded through spoilage by the quantity shipped in the same period, and keep the definition the same from one period to the next.
