Each year, 47 million tonnes of food is wasted in the European Union, of which 80% is avoidable, according to a new study from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Europeans waste an average of 123 kg per person annually, or 16% of all food reaching consumers. Avoidable food waste represents by far the largest part, with 97 kg of edible food being wasted each year. The study also took uncertainty into account: Even if the lowest amount of avoidable food waste (45 kg) is assumed, it roughly equals the weight of an apple a day. A maximum of 153 kg per person assumed would equal to 420g, almost a small loaf of bread a day. The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, is based on data from six EU countries - the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Romania. The UK was the worst culprit, wasting food worth €16.8 billion per year, whilst Romania had the best record. “Theoretically, zero avoidable food waste is a possibility for EU consumers,” write JRC researcher Davy Vanham and colleagues. “This would not only save a lot of money for the consumers themselves, but also for local authorities, which have to pay for food-waste collection and treatment.“ According to the study, reducing the amount of avoidable food waste would also save a large volume of water and avoid losses of reactive nitrogen. The blue water (surface and groundwater resources) associated with the annual 97 kg per person of avoidable food waste averaged 27 litres per capita per day. This is slightly higher than EU municipal water use. The green water (rainwater) footprint was 294 litres per person and day, equivalent to the amount used for crop production in Spain. The amount of nitrogen contained in avoidable food waste was 0.68 kg per capita per year. The study also looked at different product groups. Vegetables, fruit and cereals are wasted most since these food groups have a relatively short shelf-life and are often over-purchased because they are generally cheaper than other products like meat. However, wasted meat had a far greater environmental impact. “Meat production uses much more resources in the first place, so even a little bit of waste can have a big effect in terms of lost resources,” said lead scientist Dr Davy Vanham. Meat accounts for the highest amounts of water and nitrogen resources, followed by wasted cereals. (ab)