Each of us throws away 25 kilos of food unnecessarily per year: here is what it costs you in concrete terms each year

The news has come in: the French throw away around 25 kg of food per year, per person, according to the anti-waste application Too Good To Go. A real waste that weighs heavily on the environment but also on the wallet. This net loss is equivalent to “one meal per week per person“, as Meleyne Rabot, the new general director of Too Good To Go, told AFP.

1.7 million tons. This is the total weight of still edible food waste that we threw away in 2021. Based on this more than alarming data, the company Too Good To Go was able to calculate what this could represent financially. This is how the cost of this waste was estimated at €157 per year and per person. A huge sum, which corresponds approximately to the average price of a shopping cart for a week, for a family of 3 people.

Beyond being expensive for households, this waste also has a significant ecological impact since all the resources that were used for the production of vegetables, fruits, legumes and other meats that were thrown away have simply been wasted. The same goes for those related to the transport, conservation and packaging of the products. In short, an incredible waste that we would like to never hear about again! Fortunately, there are some solutions to stem the problem.

What you absolutely must know is that not all products should be thrown away after the date has passed. There is indeed a DLC (use by date), which is affixed to the packaging of fresh products such as meat and fish, and which corresponds to “to consume until”. In this case, it is imperative to respect it because consuming these products after the date presents risks for your health.

On the other hand, there is also a DDM (date of minimum durability), which is generally present on yogurts, cheeses, grocery products, and corresponds to “best before”. Once the date has passed, you can continue to consume these products, within reason, if their appearance, smell or taste has not changed. A yogurt can therefore be consumed up to 3 weeks after its expiration date and a Camembert, up to 15 days.