http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2016/11/30/5-5-food-wasted-bangladesh/5.

5% food being wasted in Bangladesh

Of the total wastage, 3% is being made in food collection and preparation

stage, 1.4% in serving stage and 1.1% as plate wastage.

The people in Bangladesh are wasting about 5.5% of the total procured food, a study says.
Of the total wastage, 3% is being made during procurement and preparation stage, 1.4% during serving, and
another 1.1% from the plates.
The study entitled Responsible food habit: Role of individual and the state blamed ignorance as the major
cause of the wastage.
Nazneen Ahmed, senior research fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS),
conducted the research on behalf of the Right to Food, Bangladesh.
The researcher used information of 540 households in two wards and six union parishads of Barisal district to
conduct the study.
Around 40% of the respondents said they consumed all daily cooked food while 60% respondents said they
usually had some leftovers.
Nearly 75% said they consumed the leftovers the next day, while 13% gave those away to others, 7.3% fed
their poultry with the leftovers, and the remaining around 5% simply threw those away.
In addition to counting the wastage, the survey also focused on the nutritional knowledge of the respondents.
About 60% households wash vegetables both before and after cutting.
According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), roughly one third of the food produced in the world
for human consumption which is approximately 1.3 billion tonnes wasted every year.
In terms of the economic value, food losses and food waste amount to roughly $680 billion in industrialised
countries and $310 billion in developing countries.
Bangladesh being one of the most densely and highly populated countries in the world, will surely face food
scarcity if the problem of wastage is not addressed, said Nazneen Ahmed while presenting her study findings.
According to FAO, food waste refers to food that is good in quality and fit for human consumption but that
does not get consumed because it is discarded either before or after it spoils.
The study finding was shared Wednesday at a seminar organised by the Right to Food, Bangladesh.