Let's reduce food loss (food waste)!

What is food loss (food waste)?

Food Loss (Food Waste) refers to food that is still edible but is discarded as waste.
In Japan, about 60% of food relies on imports from overseas, and approximately 6.12 million tons (Ministry of the Environment: Estimated value for 2017) of food is wasted each year. Of this, about 2.84 million tons comes from general households, while the remaining approximately 3.28 million tons is generated by Business Operators in the food industry.
Regarding food loss, one of the targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations in September 2015 is to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030. In our country, the goal has been set to reduce food loss generated from households by 50% by 2030 compared to the year 2000.
Let's keep in mind, "Don't waste food, think again!" and practice efforts to reduce food loss!

Main Initiatives for Reducing Food Loss

About half of food loss occurs from households.
The main causes are the following three points.

• Direct Disposal: Disposed of as is after the expiration date or best before date has passed.
• Leftovers: Discarded because they could not be finished.
• Excess Removal: Parts that could be eaten were discarded during cooking.

Reducing food loss is beneficial not only for the environment but also for household finances.
Let's take this opportunity to put it into practice!

1 Let's correctly understand the deadline display!

When buying food, we tend to choose items with a long shelf life, but how about selecting those with a shorter shelf life if you plan to use them up quickly?

Expiration Date

"Expiration Date for Delicious Consumption" refers to this. It is often displayed on foods that can be stored for a long time.
Even after the expiration date, it does not mean that the food cannot be eaten immediately.
For foods that have passed this date, let's make individual judgments based on appearance, smell, and other factors.

Expiration Date

Safe to Eat Until.
This is often indicated on foods that deteriorate quickly.
It is safer not to eat items past this date.

2 Let's be mindful of "not buying too much," "not making too much," and "finishing what we eat!"

If you buy too many ingredients during sales or forget to check your refrigerator and end up buying the same ingredients, it can lead to food waste as you won't be able to use them all.
Let's check the inventory of food in the refrigerator and shelves before going shopping.
Additionally, you can reduce food waste with a few simple tricks, such as cooking only the amount you can eat, using vegetable peels and cores in your cooking, and not peeling too thickly.
Furthermore, we provide content that allows you to investigate food waste occurring at home, such as the "Food Loss Diary" created by the Ministry of the Environment and the Consumer Affairs Agency, and the "Tokyo Zero Food Loss Action" created by Tokyo. Please make use of these resources.
For more details, please visit the websites of the Consumer Affairs Agency and Tokyo listed below.

• 7-Day Challenge! Food Loss Diary (PDF 11.5MB)
• Let's Measure! Food Loss at Home (PDF 3.4MB)
• Tokyo Food Loss Zero Action (PDF 4.5MB)
• Take Action to Reduce Food Loss (Consumer Affairs Agency)(External Link)

3 Let's make use of food drives!

This is a volunteer activity where surplus food from homes and businesses is collected and donated to welfare organizations and facilities.
For more details, please see the page below.

• What is a 'food drive'?

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is promoting the donation of unused food to food banks from the perspective of reducing food loss and alleviating the burden of waste disposal. We are collecting information on unused food that food-related business operators wish to donate to food banks and are conducting initiatives to disseminate this information simultaneously to food banks nationwide.
If you are having trouble disposing of unused food, please refer to the following Inagi City Website.

• Information on unused food for food banks (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)(External link)

Let's practice the 3010 (Sanmaruichimaru) movement!

"3010 (Sanmaruichimaru) Movement" is a campaign aimed at reducing food waste by encouraging diners to eat at their seats for the first 30 minutes and the last 10 minutes during banquets and meals at restaurants.
Additionally, the Consumer Affairs Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of the Environment have created a "Delicious 'Finish It' Guide for Dining Out", which we would like to share with you below.
Please make use of it.

• Delicious "Finish Your Meal" Guide for Dining Out (PDF 1.4MB)

Reference

• Food Loss Portal Site(External Link)
• National Movement to Reduce Food Loss (NO-FOODLOSS PROJECT)(External Link)
• Let's Eliminate Food Waste Project(External Link)