Faizel Patel – 12/08/2021

South African businesses and households have been urged to significantly reduce food losses and waste in order to address the country’s hunger problem, while also addressing the associated economic and environmental impacts, including climate impacts.

The findings were released in a CSIR study which shows that an estimated 10.3 million tonnes per annum of edible food, earmarked for human consumption in the country does not reach the human stomach.

This is equivalent to 34% of local food production, but because South Africa is a net exporter of food, the losses and waste is equivalent to 45% of the available food supply in the country.

Speaking to Radio Islam, the CSIR’s Professor Susan Oelofse says the results point to high levels of inefficiency in the food value chain in South Africa, at a time when there is increasing food insecurity in the country.

“The 45% of available food talks to the entire supply chain from farm right through to consumption stage and it it literally the food that is available for consumption also including the imports and excluding the exports of food in South Africa.”

Professor Oelofse says South African consumers have a more “throwaway” culture when it comes to food.

“Our consumers often think that ‘best before’ means bad after which is not the case. Consumers also don’t understand what sell by date means because typically a product will have a sell by date, a best before date and sometimes an expiry date or a use by date. So the consumers get confused and because they are confused, they err on the safe side and therefore they throw out food that is still perfectly good for consumption.”

Professor Oelofse says the CSIR has released a Food Waste Prevention and Management Guideline for South Africa to raise awareness of food wastage throughout the supply chain.

(Twitter: @FaizelPatel143)

Listen to the interview with Professor Susan Oelofse