SINGAPORE – Forgotten leftovers in the refrigerator make up the majority of food wastage in Asia-Pacific, according to a survey by Electrolux.
The home appliance maker polled 4,000 people of ages between 18 and 65 across eight countries in the region, and found that 80 per cent of households waste food regularly at home.
Forgetting they have leftovers in their refrigerators is the most common reason, constituting 49 per cent of the cause.
Households in China make the biggest effort to finish leftovers, eating them three to four times a week. But 77 per cent of the households surveyed throw their refrigerated leftovers often.
The other reasons for food wastage in Asia-Pacific are lack of portion size control (25 per cent) and not showing up for meals (34 per cent).
Asian staples such as cooked rice and noodles are the biggest category of food wasted, particularly in India (72 per cent), Indonesia (70 per cent) and Vietnam (68 per cent).
Electrolux also found that households in Australia waste the least amount of food, with one in four throwing away nothing.
In Asia, one in three households waste one to two plates of food per week.
“While most households view food waste as an important issue, less than half think about it in their own homes,” Electrolux said.
Electrolux
huizhen@sph.com.sg
