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Processing

Credit: Sally Fallon
Credit: Sally Fallon

1. “Disposing is Cheaper than Using/Re-using” Attitude

In most developed countries, physical appearances of food products affect consumers’ purchasing decisions. As a result, food processing lines in these countries carry out trimming to ensure that the final product is of the right shape and size. According to Foodlexicon.org, “trimming”, in relation to food processing, refers to the removal of all unwanted or inedible parts from meat, fish or vegetables. This process may also be done to improve the appearance of the food product. Although most trimmings can be used in food stocks, soups or sauces, most of them are usually thrown out.

Food is also lost and wasted due to spoilage along the processing line. Errors that occur during this process result in food with the wrong shape, size, weight, or damaged packaging. As consumers in developed countries perceive such products to be of a “lower quality” – even though the taste, nutritional value and safety of the food have not been compromised – workers along standardised production lines often discard such products before they are even packed for delivery to markets for sale.

2. Lack of Processing Facilities

Largely faced by developing countries which possess lesser financial resources, a large quantity of food often gets wasted due to inadequate, or the lack of, processing facilities. Oftentimes, the food processing industry in these countries lack the capacity to process and store fresh foods from farms or seas to meet demand. Thus, food that gets spoilt along the way contributes to food wastage. A significant cause to this problem comes from the conflict faced between the seasonality of production and the cost of investing in processing facilities that will not be used all year round. Hence, developing countries find themselves caught in the middle, resulting in most of them discarding spoilt food as it is a cheaper alternative in the short run.

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