How to reduce food waste: 3 tips for not throwing away good food

Globally, food waste has reached 400 billion dollars and, even today, one third of the edible food produced is thrown away (1.3 billion tons per year). In Italy, food waste corresponds to a loss of 9.2 billion euros each year, which is added to the 6.4 billion in wasted energy used to produce food.

Among the foods that are wasted the most, fruit and vegetables rank first, followed by fish, cereals, meat and, in fifth place, cheeses and dairy products.

There are also two types of indices that measure two stages in which food is lost or wasted. The first is the food loss index, which concerns products discarded before they are even marketed; the second is the food waste index, which concerns food that is wasted when it reaches the final stages of the supply chain.

Thus, it is clear that food waste occurs from the earliest stages of the supply chain to the homes of final consumers, whose weekly wastage is estimated to be on the rise. This begs the question of how we can reduce waste in our daily lives. Many are the foods, for instance, that we consume only partially and which could instead be used in their entirety. Here are three practical tips:

• Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano: yes, in these cheeses it is not only the paste that is edible, but also the rind! After cleaning the outside surface, it can be melted on a hotplate or in the microwave or cooked in soups to add flavour to the dish.
• Do you usually remove the fat from Prosciutto Crudo? Don't! It contains fatty acids that are essential for the development of the nervous and immune systems, for growth, and to fight the onset of many diseases. It is also great for making a sauce or meat stock tastier.
• Mould on cheese rinds: it is often thought that a mouldy cheese is to be discarded; instead, it is a symptom of the product's genuineness and naturalness. Mould on the rind can therefore be easily removed with the help of a brush or a dry cloth (for the video tutorial on mould removal click here).

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