THE IMPORTANCE OF REFRIGERATION TO REDUCE GLOBAL FOOD WASTE

The second Global Cold Chain Summit took place in Singapore in December 2015 and highlighted the challenge to reduce global food wastage, where refrigeration plays a major role.

Not only does food wastage impact on world hunger, it has an important environmental impact. According to the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organization), the embodied CO2 in the food we waste represents 3.6 gigatonnes CO2 (“compared at a country level, that would make food wastage the third largest emitter of CO2 in the world”).

The IIR (International Institute of Refrigeration) estimates that 23 per cent of food loss and waste in developing countries is due to the lack of a cold chain.

Refrigeration is recognized as the best technology to prolong the shelf life of perishable food, and new technologies and practices for a more efficient cold chain could bring significant progress to reduce global emissions, improve economic activity and help reduce world hunger.

Source: RAC