Poles throw away PLN 3,000 a year. “The problem is serious”
It is estimated that each household in Poland loses approximately PLN 3,000 annually due to food waste. Most of us don’t see the problem.
October 16 is World Food Day. On this occasion, Eurostat has published new data on food waste. It turns out that Poles waste 4.6 million tons of food a year. This is more than last year.
Food production that ultimately ends up in the trash consumes more than a quarter of all available drinking water and occupies an area larger than China. Awareness of this problem in the face of rising raw material costs and climate change is crucial to counteracting this problem. Meanwhile, according to a study by Too Good To Go, every third Pole (33%) believes that wasting food does not have a negative impact on the environment. This is the weakest result of all the markets surveyed (the survey was conducted in 10 countries).
– Food is no longer perceived as something valuable, it becomes only something practical and disposable, rather than a valuable resource requiring effort in production and preparation. This approach has real consequences, which we see in the latest Eurostat research on the scale of food waste in Poland – comments Anna Podkowińska-Tretyn, Country Director of Too Good To Go.
We throw PLN 3,000 into the trash
It is estimated that each household in Poland loses approximately PLN 3,000 annually due to food waste. – The scale of food waste in Poland, reaching over 4.6 million tons per year, clearly shows that the problem is still serious and requires coordinated actions. – emphasizes Podkowińska-Tretyn.
The authors of the study indicate that to effectively reduce food losses, a multidimensional strategy that takes into account consumer education is needed.
Over 60 percent Poles admit that they get rid of food because they are not sure whether it is still suitable for consumption. The authors of the study point out that among all the markets examined, Poles assess the suitability of products for consumption to the greatest extent based on the date on the packaging and not on observation and senses. Meanwhile, as research by the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW) shows, many properly stored products that have exceeded the “best before” date are safe for consumption 6 months after the specified date. The tested products included, among others: UHT milk and cream, jam, tomato paste, mayonnaise, millet, pâté or canned tuna.
