Wasted Food, Wasted Nutrients: RESEARCH Wasted Food, Wasted Nutrients: Nutrient Loss from Wasted Food in the United States and Comparison to Gaps in Dietary Intake Marie L. Spiker, MSPH, RD1,2 Hazel A.B. Hiza, PhD, RD3 Sameer M. Siddiqi1,4 Roni A. Neff, PhD, ScM1,5 1 The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future 2 Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 3 USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion 4 Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 5 Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health www.jhsph.edu/clf Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017;117(7).

Background Previous estimates from the literature: RESEARCH Background Previous estimates from the literature: 31%1 to 40%2 of the US food supply wasted 1,2491 to 1,4002 calories/capita/day wasted But, fruits, vegetables, and other frequently wasted foods often lower in calories, higher in other nutrients This study was first to calculate nutritional value of wasted food in US This presentation focuses on under-consumed nutrients: Dietary fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins A, C, D and E3 Buzby JC, Wells HF, Hyman J. The estimated amount, value, and calories of postharvest food losses at the retail and consumer levels in the United States, EIB-121. US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service;2014. Hall KD, Guo J, Dore M, Chow CC. The progressive increase of food waste in America and its environmental impact. PLoS One. 2009;4(11):e7940. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. December 2015; 8th ed.: https://health.gov/DietaryGuidelines/. Accessed June 6, 2016. Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017;117(7).

RESEARCH Study Design Calculated nutritional value of 213 commodity foods wasted at the retail and consumer levels of the US food supply in 2012: Database 1: USDA Loss-Adjusted Food Availability (LAFA) data series Database 2: National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR-28) Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017;117(7).

Nutrient loss by % of recommended intake RESEARCH Results 1: Nutrient loss by % of recommended intake For the under-consumed nutrients displayed, amount wasted/capita/day is expressed as % of recommended intake for adults ages 19-30: “Retail- and consumer-level food waste contained an average of 5.9 g dietary fiber/capita/day, equivalent to 23% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for women or 15% for men, averaging to 19% of the RDA.” Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017;117(7).

Number of “recommended intakes” in US nutrient loss RESEARCH Results 2: Number of “recommended intakes” in US nutrient loss For the under-consumed nutrients displayed, daily amount wasted is equivalent to recommended intake for the following % of US adult population 2012: “Dietary fiber wasted each day at the retail and consumer levels was equivalent to the Recommended Dietary Allowance for 74 million women or 48 million men, which averages to 27% of the adult population.” Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017;117(7).

Strengths and Limitations RESEARCH Strengths and Limitations Strengths: First to estimate loss of a comprehensive set of nutrients that represent the US food supply. Estimates based on most current available estimates of food losses at the retail and consumer levels. Limitations: The 213 commodities in this analysis may not represent all foods in the US food supply. Nutrient composition data were obtained for raw commodities, which may not match nutrient composition of food at the time of discard. Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017;117(7).

RESEARCH Broader Implications Substantial amount of nutrients, including many underconsumed nutrients, wasted in US at retail, consumer levels Efforts to prevent food waste and redistribute surplus foods where appropriate could increase the availability of nutrients for Americans, while saving money and natural resources Not all wasted food can realistically be made available for human consumption Food safety concerns are paramount Some logistical challenges of food recovery are not cost-effective to address Rather than finding alternative uses for wasted food, preventing waste in the first place is preferable Spiker et al. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2017;117(7).