We throw away food

In Norway, we throw away almost 400,000 tonnes of food every year. A lot of stores throw away food that has gone out of date.

But you and I throw away the most. Over 42 kilos per person a year!

We must stop buying more food than we need. And we must become better at using the leftovers.

Food production makes up 1/3 of the world’s greenhouse gas release. It is important to the environment that we reduce food waste.

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Kastede matrester på søppeldynga
Kastede matrester på søppeldynga

Food waste

Preventable food waste is food that could have been eaten, for example milk, bread and fruit. Stores can, for example, lower the prices of food that are close to going out of date. Shops can also give it to charity. In this way, it gets eaten.

Non-edible food waste is food that you don’t want to eat, for example, scraps from fish, meat and vegetables.

Dame som handler i en matbutikk
Dame som handler i en matbutikk

“Dumpster diving”

Some people look for food in the grocery’s trash. They often find food that is still eatable and safe. In social media, many students say that they save thousands by “dumpster diving”.

“Dumpster Diving” is illegal, because the shops own the food until it is taken away by waste management companies. Do you think this should be allowed?

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Mann leter i søpla
Mann leter i søpla

Best before, often good after?

All food products are marked with a best-before date. Sometimes it says “best before”, while other times it says “use by”. This is about food safety.

Some types of food are marked with “use-by” date. This is food that goes bad more quickly than others, for example dairy products, eggs, meat, fish and seafood, some vegetables and fruit.

Food marked with a “use-by” date can be eaten after the date, but then it is your own responsibility.

Food marked with “best before” can be eaten later without health risks. But the quality may have become worse.

In 2018, many changed their “best-before” labeling to “best before, often good after”. This was done to limit food waste in Norway.

The food industry has made a symbol with the statement “Look, smell, taste”, to make people have a look at and smell the food before they throw it away.

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Kvinne sjekker utløpsdato på en pakke med salat fra kjøleskapet
Kvinne sjekker utløpsdato på en pakke med salat fra kjøleskapet

Food hygiene and food safety

The World Health Organization (WHO) works to make sure that people get better health. They have made five principles for good food hygiene:

  • good cleaning
  • keep raw food and cooked food separate
  • cook well
  • keep the right temperature when storing
  • use safe raw foods and clean water

Safe foods

There are many rules for how food should be bought and sold. We have to be sure that we don’t get sick.

So food safety is about food being safe and not containing bacteria or other things that make us sick.

If we eat food that is not safe, we can get food poisoning and become seriously ill. In the worst case, food poisoning can lead to death.

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Ung kvinne som er syk og sitter på baderomsgulvet lent over toalettskåla
Ung kvinne som er syk og sitter på baderomsgulvet lent over toalettskåla

What is food waste?

How can you help reduce food waste?

Sources:

 

Media Rights:

    1. Getty Images
    2. Getty Images
    3. Getty Images
    4. Getty Images
    5. Getty Images
    6. ClimateScience – Solve Climate Change – YouTube
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