LONDON: Half of all the food produced in the world is being wasted every year, a report has said.
According to experts, as much as two billion tons is wasted because of overly strict sell-by dates, buy-one-get-one-free offers and consumer fussiness.
The report by independent scientific body the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said that half of food purchased in Europe and the US is thrown away as needless waste while elsewhere there are other problems like storage, the Daily Express reports.
Dr Tim Fox, of the institution, said that ‘the amount of food wasted is staggering’.
Dr Fox pointed out that the reasons for this situation range from poor engineering and agricultural practices, inadequate transport and storage infrastructure through to supermarkets demanding cosmetically perfect foodstuffs.
According to the report, in the UK, up to 30 per cent of vegetables are not harvested because their physical appearance fails to meet the exacting demands of the supermarkets.
