The perishability of fresh produce makes it one of the most vulnerable to food loss and waste across the supply chain.
According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 32% of the food produced across the world is lost or wasted. Of that, 13% is lost along supply chains, whether harvesting, transport, storage or processing. The additional 19% of food wasted is at the consumer level.
In “Wasted Potential: Tackling Food Loss and Waste Across Transforming Food Systems,” Tata-Cornell Institute researchers Jocelyn Boiteau and Prabhu Pingali examine how perishable, nutritious foods like produce are lost from farm to fork, as well as what policies and innovations can turn that around.
The book presents a globally applicable “food loss and waste pathways framework” that evaluates both the quantity and quality of loss, critical in understanding produce, where spoilage, safety and cosmetic standards often drive waste.
“Perishable foods tend to be the more nutritious products that are most at risk of food loss and waste,” Boiteau says in an interview with The Packer. “In the U.S., the underlying issue is often quality. Once you move past spoilage and food safety, much of the loss relates to cosmetic attributes or grading standards set by the private sector.”
Boiteau says these standards often divert perfectly edible produce away from the human food chain, highlighting the need for markets that can absorb fruits and vegetables outside of “Grade A” expectations.
“I’d like to see a wider range of quality offerings in mainstream markets,” she says. “How produce looks shouldn’t dictate whether it gets eaten.”
The book also explores the trade-offs inherent in packaging — an area where fresh produce companies continue to experiment with balance.
“Packaging can extend shelf life and protect perishable foods,” Boiteau says. “But it also contributes to environmental waste. For some foods, packaging is essential for safety, but for others it might not be necessary.”
She adds that labeling and date codes can also influence consumer behavior, sometimes prompting premature disposal.
“Wasted Potential” argues that better data collection and consistent definitions are vital to understanding and addressing food loss and waste.
“There’s no single agreed-upon definition of food loss and waste,” Boiteau says. “That makes it difficult to compare data or assess progress. We need a common core set of indicators that can be used across the value chain and across contexts.”
Data collection, especially earlier in the supply chain, remains a challenge. While retail and consumer-level waste have been widely studied, Boiteau pointed out that the middle stages of processing, packaging and distribution are less transparent — particularly when private companies are reluctant to share information.
“How and where we measure loss shapes how we tackle it,” she says.
Published by Springer as part of its Sustainable Development Goals Series, “Wasted Potential” positions food loss and waste reduction not only as an environmental imperative but also as a key strategy for improving access to nutritious diets. The authors call for investments in value-adding innovations, such as improved cold chain systems, smarter packaging and digital data tools, to strengthen market access and reduce spoilage, especially in transforming food systems.
“Reducing food loss and waste is crucial to building sustainable food systems that support healthy diets,” Boiteau says. “But our efforts have to be holistic — connecting food security, environmental goals and the economic realities across the entire produce supply chain.”
