Biological factors and production challenges drive significant UK fruit and vegetable loss.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Food loss and waste estimates are highly inconsistent as a result of methodological and systemic differences. Additionally, the absence of in-depth evidence surrounding the biological drivers of food loss and waste precludes targeted mitigation action. To address this challenge, we undertook a metanalysis utilising a systematic literature review combined with industry stakeholder surveys to examine the incidence of food loss and waste in the UK fruit and vegetable supply chain between primary production and retail.

Results

We estimated that 37% of fruit and vegetables, equivalent to 2.4 Mt of produce, is lost between production and sale. In the UK, primary production is the main stage responsible for these losses (58%), and is dominated by four crops (apple, onion

SUBMITTER: Gage E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11824919 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature