Quantification of food waste and food losses in Flanders (Belgium)

Overview

In the Flemish agri-food chain, from harvest to consumption, an estimated 3,485,000 tonnes of food waste were released in 2015. This is the total of the (edible) food losses and the (inedible, unavoidable) residues. 92% of all food waste is valorised. The largest proportion is valorised as animal feed (43% of all food waste), the highest possible valorisation on the food waste cascade, followed by anaerobic digestion (21%) and soil (17%). The cascade index of the Flemish agri-food chain in total is 8.2 (score between 0 and 10). The Flemish agri-food chain is strong when it comes to the valorisation of food waste. Within the food waste, a distinction can be made between the edible (food losses) and the inedible fraction (residues). Three quarters (74%) of food waste are residues. Just one quarter (26%) of food waste in 2015 is food losses. Expressed in absolute figures, this equates to 2,578,000 tonnes of residues and 907,000 tonnes of food losses across the entire chain.