Households waste 2 mln tons of food a year

Nearly two million metric tons of food are wasted  every year in Polish households, according to a report by the Federation of Polish Food Banks (FPBŻ). Polish families throw out bread, fruit, meat, vegetables and yogurts most frequently. As many 60 percent of Poles aged 18-75 admit to wasting food. The main reason behind this behavior is expired food (45 percent), improper food storage  (12 percent), excessive portions (10 percent), the purchase of low-quality food (9 percent) and poor tasting food (8 percent). According to the report, Poland ranks fifth in the EU (behind the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands) in terms of the volume of food wasted. In Western countries, however, more food is squandered by consumers, while in Poland, the food industry is responsible for the largest proportion of waste. In total, as many as nine million tons of food are thrown out annually.