Food loss and food waste: Economic implications, environmental consequences, sustainable solutions for management with respect to developing nations

Food loss (FL) is the term which can be defined as "the decrease in quantity or quality of food that makes it unsuitable for human consumption" by the United Nation's organisation FAO. Food wastage is a major component of food loss and infers to food products that are discarded at the consumer and retailing level. According to the FAO of the United Nations, amount of lost or wasted food that is present in the supply chain is estimated at 1.35 billion tonnes per year that was being produced for the consumption of human beings but was not consumed. According to calculations made by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the quantity of food that is lost or thrown away annually will increase to one-third amount by the year of 2030.At that time, "2.1 billion tonnes will either be lost or thrown away, equivalent to 66 tonnes per second".