Fully Refrigerated Supply Chains Could Prevent Half of Global Food Waste

A new study conducted by the University of Michigan, U.S. National Science Foundation, and Carrier Global Corporation has revealed that nearly half of the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted globally each year could be prevented with the implementation of fully refrigerated food supply chains. This finding is crucial as around one-third of the food produced worldwide is wasted annually, while approximately 800 million people suffer from hunger.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters, also found that optimizing food supply chains with high-quality refrigeration could reduce emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases associated with food waste by 41%. Researchers built a food-loss estimation tool to assess the impact of improved cold chain access on food loss and emissions for seven food types in seven regions, utilizing data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other sources.

By modeling food losses at each stage of the supply chain, the researchers highlighted where the cold chain can be optimized to reduce food losses and emissions. They analyzed the effects of transitioning from the current state of inconsistent and variable-quality cold chains to an optimized system with high-quality refrigeration across all stages.

The study emphasizes the disparity in cold chain infrastructure between developed and developing countries. Regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia were identified as having significant potential to reduce both food loss and related emissions through enhanced cold-chain implementation.

“The scale of our opportunity for reducing food loss and waste globally is evident,” said Aaron Friedman-Heiman, the study’s lead author and a master's student at the University of Michigan. “Approximately half of the roughly 1.3 billion tons of food that goes to waste annually can be solved through food supply-chain optimization.”

The research also sheds light on the environmental impact of different types of food, revealing that meat accounts for more than 50% of food loss-related greenhouse gas emissions, despite representing less than 10% of global food losses by weight. Optimized refrigeration of meat alone could eliminate more than 43% of emissions associated with meat loss.

Kori Recalde, Senior Director of Environmental, Social & Governance at Carrier, commented on the findings: “At Carrier, we recognize that connected cold chains are essential in the fight against food loss/waste and the associated carbon emissions, and we’re proud to offer refrigeration products and solutions that preserve, protect and extend the supply of fresh food, as well as lifesaving medicine and other perishable goods around the globe.”