Alex Trelinski
WASTED food totalled 1.2 million tons in 2021 according to Spain’s Agriculture Ministry.
The total was actually 8.6% lower than the previous year.
The latest figure means that just over 28 kilos of food, notably frozen meat, vegetables, and sauces were discarded by each person in Spain.
The reduction has been put down to price rises, changes in habits, and greater awareness.
A new Food Loss and Waste Prevention bill was unveiled earlier this year which will fine bars, restaurants, and supermarkets that don’t have a plan to stop food from ending up in garbage containers.
The bill is expected to become law at the start of 2023.
The Food Waste Report was based on feedback from 4,000 people.
It says 3.8% of all purchased food and drink is not consumed at home or at catering establishments.
Figures show that three out of four households (about 13.18 million) continue to throw food and drink in the bin, and only 26% never do so.
The products that most often end up as waste are frozen meats (16.7%), sauces (15.9%) and vegetables (12%), followed by fruits (7.3%) and juices ( 5.9%).
The times of greatest wastage when dining away from home are at lunch(42%) and dinner(21%).
READ MORE:
- Spain aims to cut food waste with ‘doggy bags’ on offer for all diners
- Supermarkets in Spain will have to sell cut-price ‘ugly’ fruit and veg to reduce food waste
- WASTE NOT: Benidorm begins crackdown on buffets as ‘1 tonne’ of food waste thrown away per restaurant each year
