Quantifying food losses and the potential for reduction in Switzerland

This study assesses food losses in Switzerland across the entire value chain, finding that households contribute significantly to avoidable waste. The authors use mass and energy flow analysis to quantify losses and suggest that nearly half of all food loss could be reduced through targeted mitigation. The study highlights household behavior and processing inefficiencies as key areas for intervention.

Context and quantification

About the policy

Area

Waste reduction

Instrument

MFA, EFA

Intervention

50% loss prevention in food chain

Cost

None

Funding

None

Institutional arrangement

None

Impacts

Stakeholders involved

Producers, households

Stakeholders impacted

Consumers

Wellbeing

Environment

Justice consideration

Distributional

Metadata

Lead author nameClaudio Beretta
Lead author genderMale
Lead author institutionETH Zurich
Lead author institution locationZurich, Switzerland
Peer reviewed?true
Grey literature?false
Type of paperResearch article
Volume33
Publication year2013
URL / DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.11.007
Sufficiency mentioned?true