Fruit and vegetable consumption and waste in Australia - VicHealth

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Furthermore, their research revealed that most of the food discarded at the consumer level can be eaten: 61% of food wasted is classified as avoidable food losses, 20% as possibly avoidable losses and 19% as unavoidable losses. By cost, 35% of this wasted food is comprised of fruit and vegetables and by weight, 40% is fruit and vegetables. Consumer research by the UK’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) revealed that most food waste is the result of food being left uneaten on plates, passing its ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date, looking, smelling or tasting bad, or going mouldy. Cooking and preparing too much food was also highlighted as a major cause of wastage (Ventour, 2008). In 2005, the Australia Institute put a dollar figure on national household food wastage. Its Wasteful Consumption in Australia report examined Australia’s consumption patterns by identifying the immense quantity of goods and services that are never or hardly ever used. The report found that food accounts for most of this wasteful consumption. It revealed that Australian consumers threw away $5.3 billion worth of food in 2004, over half of which was fresh food, such as fruit and vegetables. This sum represents over thirteen times the amount donated by Australian households to oversees aid agencies in 2003 (Hamilton, Denniss, & Baker, 2005). Vignette 1: Mango Wastage The 2007 CSIRO State of Logistics report examined the supply system for the Australian mango industry. Most mangoes in Australia are produced for the domestic market (90%). However, the industry typically suffers very large losses and only a small fraction of the fruit is ever retailed, resulting in considerable lost revenue. There are a variety of reasons that the losses occur along the supply system (also termed value chain because of the value- adding that takes place at each phase), but most can be attributed to losses in quality and shelf-life. Research by the CSIRO team found that the greatest loss in shelf-life occurs in the first 100 hours post-harvest. This time frame typically includes packinghouse operations and transportation to the destination market. If the cold chain is managed with a “best practice” framework, the product can arrive at the market with sufficient time remaining for commercialization. Once the product is purchased by the consumer, its value is closely linked to domestic handling and storage; nevertheless, decisions made during the supply system impact on the remaining shelf-life and value of the product. The mango industry continually struggles with the high transport and packing costs of the fruit. These costs collectively represent 50% of the grower costs to get fresh product to market and therefore create a major obstacle for the commercialization of mango. Other issues that challenge the mango industry are grower fragmentation, inconsistent cold chain practices, shortages of refrigerated trucks, long distances to markets, lack of skilled labourers and short shelf-life (Higgens et al., 2007). Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Waste in Australia 17
Recommendations The Commonwealth Government needs to regularly monitor nutrition and waste. Currently, lack of data inhibits government and others from identifying problems and developing effective solutions. Surveys are essential to monitor the Australian situation and to inform and evaluate public health and environmental campaigns. � Conduct a National Nutrition Survey: Without a National Nutrition Survey of adults in 13 years, it is impossible to develop informed policies and programs. Regular data collection, using consistent sampling techniques, is necessary for determining changes in consumption over time and the effectiveness of interventions and campaigns. � Conduct a National Waste Survey: Without reliable data on food waste, it is unclear exactly where most food is being wasted. This data is essential to create waste reduction strategies based on sound science. Regular waste audits should collect data on waste disposal all along the food supply system so that each sector (including consumers) can be monitored. Data should be entered into a national waste data system to track changes over time. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Waste in Australia 18
Page 1: Fruit and vegetable consumption and
Page 4 and 5: Abbreviations ABS Australian Bureau
Page 6 and 7: Executive Summary Food is essential
Page 8 and 9: Recommendation 5 � Local and stat
Page 10 and 11: Introduction “What you eat is the
Page 12 and 13: The Australian Food System “The f
Page 14 and 15: In 2006-2007, retail turnover in th
Page 16 and 17: � are forced to be more selective
Page 18 and 19: In light of these differing recomme
Page 20 and 21: Waste Data Food losses are frequent
Page 24 and 25: Drivers for Change “The price sho
Page 26 and 27: The Mediterranean diet, an eating p
Page 28 and 29: this number has risen considerably
Page 30 and 31: In addition, soil can hold signific
Page 32 and 33: Additional greenhouse gas emissions
Page 34 and 35: Water Usage Thirty percent of Austr
Page 36 and 37: Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosy
Page 38 and 39: Rural communities play a critical r
Page 40 and 41: sheep in Australia are not produced
Page 42 and 43: Queensland, an evaluation completed
Page 44 and 45: Efforts to Minimize and Better Mana
Page 46 and 47: Vignette 6: Golden Circle Golden Ci
Page 48 and 49: Vignette 8: Wilbur Ellis Company Wi
Page 50 and 51: Contamination and Processing � Co
Page 52 and 53: sustainability, business and invest
Page 54 and 55: Conclusion “Our attitudes, values
Page 56 and 57: The time is now right for Governmen
Page 58 and 59: References Access Economics. (2001)
Page 60 and 61: Food Standards Australia New Zealan
Page 62 and 63: Nowson, C., Worsley, A., Margerison
Page 64: Victorian Health Promotion Foundati

Fruit and vegetable consumption and waste in Australia - VicHealth

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