From scraps to unspoiled foods, almost half of the food produced worldwide is wasted somewhere along the food supply chain. According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Tesco, 40% of the food grown goes uneaten, and it’s having a huge impact on our climate.

In the joint report, Driven to Waste, data shows about 2.5 billion metric tons of food is wasted worldwide each year; 1.2 billion metric tons on farms and 931 million metric tons by retailers and consumers. This increase boosts the greenhouse gas emissions generated by food loss to 10%, the equivalent of nearly twice the emissions produced by all the cars driven in the US and Europe in one year.

To put it into perspective, a landmass larger than the Indian subcontinent and water volume equivalent to 304 million Olympic swimming pools was used to produce the 1.2 billion metric tons of food that are lost before, during and after harvest. This doesn’t even include the food wasted across the supply chain!

Although farm-stage food loss is hard to measure, post-harvest loss can be pinpointed to transport, storage, manufacturing, and processing stages. The case studies conducted as part of the report show that one of the direct drivers of food waste is the lack of temperature management.

To address this growing issue, the report calls on governments and the food industry to set reduction targets and invest in infrastructure improvements such as adequate storage, transport, and cooling facilities. To ensure temperatures are maintained to a product’s specifications, data loggers are often implemented throughout the supply chain to validate proper storage and handling.

MadgeTech specializes in the design and manufacturing of data logging solutions for food processors and retailers. From farm to fork, there’s a data logger that continuously monitors temperatures with the option for customizable alerts and notifications, so corrective action can be immediately taken when thresholds are breached.

To learn more about the benefits of implementing MadgeTech data loggers into your daily operations, call us at (603) 456-2011 or email [email protected].

About MadgeTech Marketing:

Founded in 1996, MadgeTech takes pride in maintaining our production process entirely out of our headquarters in Warner, New Hampshire. Proudly known as an industry expert, MadgeTech data logging solutions are sold in more than 100 countries around the world to the world’s most regulated industries, providing the validation needed for compliance and quality control.