RESEARCH Wasted Food Wasted Nutrients Nutrient Loss from
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RESEARCH Wasted Food, Wasted Nutrients: Nutrient Loss from Wasted Food in the United States and Comparison to Gaps in Dietary Intake Marie L. Spiker, MSPH, RD 1, 2 Hazel A. B. Hiza, Ph. D, RD 3 Sameer M. Siddiqi 1, 4 Roni A. Neff, Ph. D, Sc. M 1, 5 1 The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 3 USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion 4 Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 5 Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2 www. jhsph. edu/clf Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017; 117(7).
RESEARCH Background • Previous estimates from the literature: • 31%1 to 40%2 of the US food supply wasted • 1, 2491 to 1, 4002 calories/capita/day wasted • But, fruits, vegetables, and other frequently wasted foods often lower in calories, higher in other nutrients • This study was first to calculate nutritional value of wasted food in US • This presentation focuses on under-consumed nutrients: • Dietary fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins A, C, D and E 3 1. Buzby JC, Wells HF, Hyman J. The estimated amount, value, and calories of postharvest food losses at the retail and consumer levels in the United States, EIB-121. US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service; 2014. 2. Hall KD, Guo J, Dore M, Chow CC. The progressive increase of food waste in America and its environmental impact. PLo. S One. 2009; 4(11): e 7940. 3. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and U. S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. December 2015; 8 th ed. : https: //health. gov/Dietary. Guidelines/. Accessed June 6, 2016. Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017; 117(7).
RESEARCH Study Design Calculated nutritional value of 213 commodity foods wasted at the retail and consumer levels of the US food supply in 2012: • Database 1: USDA Loss-Adjusted Food Availability (LAFA) data series • Database 2: National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR-28) Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017; 117(7).
RESEARCH Results 1: Nutrient loss by % of recommended intake For the under-consumed nutrients displayed, amount wasted/capita/day is expressed as % of recommended intake for adults ages 19 -30: “Retail- and consumer-level food waste contained an average of 5. 9 g dietary fiber/capita/day, equivalent to 23% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for women or 15% for men, averaging to 19% of the RDA. ” Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017; 117(7).
RESEARCH Results 2: Number of “recommended intakes” in US nutrient loss For the under-consumed nutrients displayed, daily amount wasted is equivalent to recommended intake for the following % of US adult population 2012: “Dietary fiber wasted each day at the retail and consumer levels was equivalent to the Recommended Dietary Allowance for 74 million women or 48 million men, which averages to 27% of the adult population. ” Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017; 117(7).
RESEARCH Strengths and Limitations Strengths: • First to estimate loss of a comprehensive set of nutrients that represent the US food supply. • Estimates based on most current available estimates of food losses at the retail and consumer levels. Limitations: • The 213 commodities in this analysis may not represent all foods in the US food supply. • Nutrient composition data were obtained for raw commodities, which may not match nutrient composition of food at the time of discard. Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017; 117(7).
RESEARCH Broader Implications • Substantial amount of nutrients, including many underconsumed nutrients, wasted in US at retail, consumer levels • Efforts to prevent food waste and redistribute surplus foods where appropriate could increase the availability of nutrients for Americans, while saving money and natural resources • Not all wasted food can realistically be made available for human consumption • Food safety concerns are paramount • Some logistical challenges of food recovery are not costeffective to address • Rather than finding alternative uses for wasted food, preventing waste in the first place is preferable Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017; 117(7).
