Food waste describes all food produced for human consumption which is lost or thrown away on its way from the field to the plate.

This includes, for example, apples in the field deemed not “pretty enough” for sale, unused by-products generated during food processing or simply the yoghurt we throw out when it has reached its shelf-life. This way, a total of around 2.8 million tonnes of food is lost in Switzerland every year.

Although there are substantial losses at all stages of the value-creation-chain, almost nowhere else does so much food end up as waste as in our homes. Roughly a third of all food waste in Switzerland is attributable to individual households. As a result, households are responsible for the emission of up to 1.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.

This is why Madame Frigo starts here. Because the later in life a product is thrown away, the greater the environmental impact. Together we can reduce food waste at home!

Wasting food not only harms the environment, it is also costly. In Switzerland, each person throws out an average of CHF 620.– worth of food.

Finally, food waste is also a moral problem. Around the globe, more than 800 million people suffer from hunger. The 1.3 billion tonnes of food thrown away globally every year could easily feed these people.