The National day of awareness of food loss and waste was established in 2014 by the Spreco Zero campaign of Last Minute Market with the University of Bologna - Department of Agri-Food Sciences and Technologies and with the Ministry of the Environment. From 2014 to today the National day of awareness of food loss and waste is the opportunity to raise awareness on a central issue of our time also through the dissemination of new data from the Waste Watcher International Observatory.
On the way to improvement
If in 2014 one in two italians declared that they throw food almost every day, in 2019 only 1% of respondents said they trash food every day and in 2021 Italians proved to be the most virtuous people in the first Cross Country Report monitored on 8 countries in the world (United States, China, United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Germany, Spain and Italy) with an average weekly waste of 529 grams of food per capita.
The data on waste of 2021 - Bread remains at the top of the list of most wasted foods
The 2021 survey records the waste of about 27 kg of food per person (529 grams per week), therefore 11.78% less (3.6 kg) compared to the previous year. More than 222.000 tons of food were "saved" from waste in Italy (222.125 tonnellate, to be precise). The national domestic food waste is worth 6 billion and 403 million euros, and the entire food waste supply chain in Italy is close to the cost of 10 billion, adding up the losses in the field and the waste in trade and distribution which amount to 3,284,280,114 €.
By weight, this means that 1,661,107 tons of food at home have been wasted in Italy and 3,624,973 tons if losses and wastes of the supply chain are included (data Waste Watcher International / University of Bologna for Zero Waste campaign and Ipsos surveys). The attention of Italians to the issue is striking: 85%, therefore an almost plebiscite percentage, ask to make the donations of food withdrawn from sale by supermarkets and companies to associations that deal with needy people mandatory by law, later to the increase in poverty generated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Shopping is mostly done once or twice a week: 7 out of 10 Italians declare it (69% of respondents) and there is a clear awareness of the importance of investing a few more euros for quality. The attention of prevention about food waste reverberates in teaching children: first, do not waste, Italian families say in 83.9% of cases. 8 out of 10 italians declare that they hardly ever waste food, or less than once a week. And when it happens, fresh fruit is always at the top of the nefarious 'hit parade' of waste (37%), followed by fresh vegetables (28.1%), onions, garlic and tubers (5%), salads (21%) and fresh bread (21%).
Biova Project's commitment
With its 3 tons of unsold bread collected in 2021, Biova Project tries to do something concrete to reduce waste and reintroduce this good into the food chain. With its products, not only Biova Beer, but also Ri Snack and the products currently being designed, it tries to accelerate the ecological transition, which we can no longer escape from.
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