Nearly 6% of global food losses and 15% of food waste are in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to estimates by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The product that is wasted represents losses for companies, generates harmful effects for the economy of the producers, for national food security and for the environment.
Therefore, FAO insists that waste be prevented and this requires a greater commitment on the part of the different actors of the food chains.
Undoubtedly, the loss and waste of food represents one of the main challenges for the sustainability of our food systems, generating negative environmental, social, and economic impacts,”
said Diego Fallas, Program Assistant of the FAO Representation in Costa Rica.
On the other hand, Ana María Bárcenas, Director of Engineering in Food Technology of the UTN, a percentage comes out as a waste of the main process, another as waste due to failures in the packaging, due to quality problems, or because its useful life is fulfilled before being consumed.
Since 2014, the Technological Institute of Costa Rica, together with the researchers of the Agribusiness School, has joined forces with FAO, in order to create the Costa Rican Network for the Reduction of Food Loss and Waste.
The Network aligns its actions in research, awareness, and creation of alliances with other sectors of the country. To date, more than 20 public, private, academic, and civil society entities work together to put an end to this problem.
Currently, the TEC coordinates the network and has also executed the first case studies in Costa Rica to diagnose the situation of food losses and waste. Similarly, it works in research and technology transfer to measure and avoid food losses along productive agro-chains.