Food Recovery Hierarchy
The below diagram displays how the handling of wasted food should be prioritized. This diagram should be kept in mind from the production, to purchase, cooking, and final disposal of any and all food products.
Food Waste vs. Excess Food vs. Food loss
Wasted food typically refers to food that was not used for its intended purposed and can fall into three subcategories: food waste, excess food, or food loss. All three types play a different role in the food recovery hierarchy.
Food Waste: plate waste, spoiled food, or cooking scraps
- Food under this category is typically reused at animal feed or is sent to be composted or anaerobically digested
Excess Food: food from restaurants or manufacturers that is recovered and donated to feed people
- This food helps those who utilize food banks, soup kitchens, or shelters
Food Loss: This is unused agricultural products such as unharvested or “ugly” crops
- These food products can also be used as animal feed or to feed hungry people, but there have been new entrepreneurial developments to open the market for “ugly” produce at a reduce cost to consumers.