Egypt climbs the top of the highest contributing countries to food waste percentages with 73 kilograms total annual amount of global food waste per person.

According to a study conducted by the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN), Egypt comes in the sixteenth place after Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Palestine among others.

The BCFN has listed a total of 25 countries who are the major contributors to the global food waste percentages.

The Barilla Centre has placed Saudi Arabia as the first major contributor with 427 Kilograms of annual food waste per person. Indonesia came in second place with 300 Kilograms of annual food waste per person.

The BCFN highlights the relation between a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rates and its natural resources management. It states that growth of the economy cannot be solely measured by the GDP of a country; the economy of a country is to be measured by its ability to efficiently use its natural resources including food.

Therefor, developed countries with high GDP have been listed as major contributors to global food waste. The United States came in third place with 277 Kilograms of annual food waste per person. Australia came in sixth place with 180 Kilograms followed by the UK with 131.5 Kilograms of annual food waste per person.

The Food Waste Causes and Impact report highlights the distinction between food loss and food waste which defines the first as the losses that take place in the beginning of the food supply chain.

In other words, it highlights the losses due to climatic and environmental challenges, harvesting or processing. On the other hand, food waste carries intentional choices to throw the food.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has given a definition for food waste which means any healthy or edible substance that, instead of being designed for human consumption, is wasted, lost or disregarded.

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