Don't throw food away.

Food loss for disadvantaged people and reduction of waste can play an important role in advancing the SDGs, especially those related to adequate food and nutrition and environmental sustainability.

Staple food micronutrient fortification can be an effective strategy to combat micronutrient malnutrition. gathering important information about diet and nutritional intake.

According to Prof. Dr. Hans Verhagen and the open journals sources, National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM),

The Netherlands Weigh the benefits against the adverse effects a food (or food component) may have, to facilitate more informed policy decisions regarding public health issues. This is rooted in the recognition that good food and nutrition can promote health and that some risks can be accepted if the expected benefits outweigh the risks. In the field of food and nutrition, the risk may not exist. On the other hand, the risks associated with drugs or drugs generally pose a risk of environmental waste. The concept of a balance of risks and benefits is common in drug evaluation. In the field of food and nutrition, the health burden associated with unsafe food is much smaller than the health burden related to unhealthy eating patterns or eating too much. For example, the benefits associated with eating fruits and vegetables as well as a reduction in cardiovascular disease, cancer, etc., far outweigh the risks of pesticide contamination. Agricultural pesticides are regularly monitored by government authorities, and are below the acceptable daily intake level (ADI). But residue remains a consumer problem and is largely a perceived risk, unlike a real risk. Traditionally, the prevalence of population intake below the EAR was taken to reflect the risk of inadequate intake.

Therefore, addressing food loss and waste is essential to improve the efficiency and the way food is produced, distributed and consumed. The crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to highlight the fragility and weakness of our food system, and has launched a call to re-establish the food system with particular attention to addressing the ways in which food is lost and / or wasted.

During the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in food loss and waste.

the rate of loss in perishable agricultural products and products in the supply chain shows a dramatic increase, due to movement restrictions that hinder the transport of food to markets or access to markets by consumers.

Increased job losses mean that people lose income to buy food. This has resulted in increased demand for food bank services. But food banks face a number of challenges in distributing food, due to restrictions on movement and physical distancing measures taken to prevent a pandemic. As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc globally, jeopardizes food security and nutrition in many countries and affects the incomes and livelihoods of small producers, especially in developing countries,

Need to guarantee food availability, especially for the most vulnerable. Action is needed globally to maximize the use of produced food, and to support efforts to reduce food loss and waste, to prevent a global food crisis.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reducing food loss and waste can bring benefits to society as a whole and can result in:

- Approximately 14 percent of food produced for global consumption each year is lost between harvest and on the wholesale market.

- 38 percent of the total energy consumption in the global food system is used to produce food that is lost or wasted (FAO, 2015a).

- Post-harvest losses can reduce food availability and reduce smallholder income.

- The strongest positive food impact is likely to come from reducing food losses early in the supply chain, particularly in agricultural loss in countries with high levels of food insecurity.

- Reducing losses along the food chain has economic benefits, namely it can increase productivity and increase profits.

- Food redistribution activities can overcome food shortages and prevent waste of food surpluses, ensuring economic, environmental and social benefits.

- Reducing food waste at the consumer level can save money.

- There is a good business for companies, countries and cities to reduce food loss and waste.

- Reducing food loss and waste throughout the life of the supply is an important option that will reduce the amount of emissions per unit of food consumed.

- Lack of comparable and reliable information is a major obstacle to the development of policies that are targeted effectively to reduce food loss and waste.

- Food loss and waste reduction can play an important role in advancing the SDGs, especially those related to food and nutrition security and environmental sustainability.