Food waste describes all foods that have been produced for human consumption which are lost or being thrown away on their way from the fields to our plates.

This includes, for example, apples that are picked in the fields but then are declared as being not “pretty enough” to be sold in supermarkets, unused by-products that accrue during food processing or simply the yoghurt we throw out when it has reached its shelf-life. In total 2.8 million tonnes of food are lost this way in Switzerland every year.

Although there are substantial losses at all stages of the value-creation-chain, throwing edible foods in the bin in our homes is a main contributor to food waste. Individual households are responsible for a third of the food wasted in Switzerland and thereby account for the emission of 1.6 million tonnes of CO2.

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

Food waste thereby not only harms the environment – it is also costly. In Switzerland, every person throws out an average of CHF 620.- worth of foods.

Last but not least, food waste also is a moral problem. Around the globe, 800 million people suffer from hunger. These people could readily be fed with the yearly wasted 1.3 billion tonnes of food.