Supermarket food waste remains at lowest level since start monitoring

Between 2018 and 2023, supermarkets significantly reduced their food waste. Over the past two years, however, food losses have remained virtually unchanged: 1.2 per cent of all food purchased by supermarkets did not go to people, but instead went to animal feed, landfill, composting or other destinations. Actual food waste (food that is not consumed by either people or animals) also remained at its lowest level in eight years, at 0.9 per cent. Behind this stable overall picture, differences exist between product categories. Supermarkets lost less bread and fewer fresh meat and fish products, while losses of dairy products, eggs and chilled ready-made meals increased compared with the previous year. According to the researchers, this calls for targeted measures within specific product categories.

The fact that such targeted measures work is evident from the reduction in bread losses. Initiatives such as selling discounted “yesterday’s bread” and using AI-supported demand forecasting have helped supermarkets reduce bread losses by almost a third compared with the first measurement in 2018. Nevertheless, further reductions remain possible, says Wageningen researcher Martijntje Vollebregt, who analysed the data. “There are still opportunities to reduce losses further in absolute terms,” she says. “You can also weigh losses according to their carbon footprint.” In that case, the climate impact of the products becomes the key metric. “Bread then accounts for a smaller share of the total impact,” Vollebregt explains.

Fresh meat and fish, by contrast, have a relatively large carbon footprint. Within this product category supermarkets have made particularly strong progress: last year, losses fell by twenty per cent compared with the previous year and are now almost half the level recorded in 2018. As meat and fish contribute relatively heavily to CO₂ emissions, these reductions also deliver substantial climate benefits. The results suggest that efforts by the retail sector to reduce both food waste and environmental impact are paying off.

Although supermarkets make progress in many product categories, others still offer room for improvement. In 2025, supermarkets discarded one-third more dairy products, eggs and chilled ready-made foods – such as bagged salads and fresh pizzas – than they did the previous year. A proportion of this material was still used for animal feed and other high-value applications. Even so, losses in this category rose to almost the same level as in the baseline year of 2018. One possible explanation is the rapid growth of these product categories in recent years, leading supermarkets to introduce new products. These products have a short shelf life, Moreover, for those new products, it is difficult to predict consumer demand accurately. Vollebregt suspects that orange peel from freshly squeezed orange juice may also have contributed to the increase. “The peel left over after juicing is classified as waste, even though it is still used for applications such as animal feed and soap,” she explains. “This is the first year we have included these peels in our analysis. The peelings are food scraps; they do not contribute to food waste.”

According to the researchers, the fact that food waste has remained at a low level for several years does not mean the limit has been reached. On the contrary, the differences between product categories reveal where further gains are still possible. New technologies, improved demand forecasting and targeted interventions can help supermarkets reduce remaining losses even further. “Supermarkets continuously strive to find the right balance between innovation, efficiency and minimising food waste,” says Latoya Balogun, Manager of Sustainable Supply Chains and Food Products at the Dutch Food Retail Association (CBL). “Maintaining this stable, low level for three consecutive years shows that our approach is working. At the same time, we are not going to sit back: every store, every shelf and every season presents new opportunities to reduce food waste even further.”

Toine Timmermans, Director of the Dutch Foundation Together Against Food Waste, agrees. “The retail sector still appears to be on track to achieve the target of a fifty per cent reduction by 2030. Their approach is working, particularly for bread and fresh meat and fish products. The challenge now is to achieve similar results in other categories through smarter ordering systems, better shelf-life management and strong employee engagement.”

The Retail Food Waste Monitor has tracked food waste and food losses since 2018. In 2025, total food losses amounted to 1.2 per cent, while total food waste stood at 0.9 per cent.

• Food losses by product category in 2025 were:
• Bread, bake-off products and pastries: 5.3% (compared with 7.7% in 2018)
• Fresh meat and fish: 1.6% (compared with 2.9% in 2018)
• Potatoes, vegetables and fruit: 2.0% (compared with 2.7% in 2018)
• Dairy products, eggs and chilled ready-made meals: 1.5% (compared with 1.4% in 2018)
• Other fresh and ambient products: 0.3% (compared with 0.4% in 2018)

The annual study was initiated by the Dutch foundation Food Waste Free United and the Dutch Food Retail Association (CBL), and is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature. Wageningen University & Research (WUR) conducted the research using self-reported data from online and physical supermarkets. The researchers applied the proven Target-Measure-Act methodology. The resulting data and insights can support the development of new strategies to further reduce food waste.

Eleven organisations contributed to the monitor: Albert Heijn, Aldi, DekaMarkt, Dirk, Hoogvliet, Jumbo, Lidl, Plus, the online supermarkets Picnic and Crisp, and meal-box provider HelloFresh. Together, these retailers account for approximately 90 per cent of the Dutch supermarket market.

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