Average waste level of urban consumer in Romania dropped to 6.5% in 2020

The average waste level of the urban consumer in Romania dropped to 6.5% in 2020, from 10.43% in 2016, while for 2030 estimates show that food waste will drop by 50%, said Sorin Iorga, specialist of the National Research and Development Institute for Food Bioresources – IBA Bucharest.    He presented conclusions of specialized studies at online events organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with IBA Bucharest, devoted to the International Awareness Day on Food Waste.   Iuga says we should take into account that 2020 was an unusual year because of the pandemic, with more reduced isolation degree and physical consumption, but those conditions recorded a significant waste drop.   The Romanian consumer's profile was drawn up, with the most risky waste behavior in Romania, young adults with high salaries ranking first.    According to the source, the analysis made at the level of the whole food chain shows the level of waste on every important ring, but besides the final consumer, the second waste risk is the primary production ring. “Of all, it is the one that stores losses because products that have no commercial value do not leave the field  and a phenomenon of field loss is accumulated. The processing, distribution and retail part is very attentive with consumption and can be settled on primary consumption. We already know that advertising policies are an engine forcing sales beyond the real needs of consumers. That is why making the consumer aware must be hard work because it must fight very efficient methods to influence the behavior created by commercial advertising engines,”the IBA specialist said.   On the other hand, an important place is occupied, at the level of the food chain, by   food waste from HoReCa, said Iorga. In order to increase the business figure, the sector in trying to force sales through generous ratios and a super offer to attract the consumers' attention.” He added that in this project specialists came with a set of suggestions and measures for curb food waste.   ‘We asked 800 companies representing 60,000 jobs and 2 billion euros as business figure, about the way of curbing food waste, entrepreneurs acknowledged they needed investments’, Iorga concluded.   The study presented was meant to foresee food waste indicators for 2030, as well as causes generating waste behavior among the urban population in Romania. According to data published by INS on this topic (2019) in Romania, food waste is estimated at 6,000 tons per day, 49% coming from households, 37% from the food industry, 7% from retail 5% for public food and 2% from the farming sector.