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+--- Thread: Article From farm to table, 40% of food goes to waste (/thread-19992.html)
From farm to table, 40% of food goes to waste - C C - Mar 17, 2026
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1120219
INTRO: he U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that up to 40% of the nation’s food supply goes to waste every year—mainly because it spoils during transportation, storage and distribution—even after reaching retail stores and consumers’ homes.
But spoiled food is not the only concern. Contaminated or degraded food can pose serious public health risks. At the same time, food waste also harms the environment: Most food packaging relies heavily on petroleum-based plastics that wind up in landfills and oceans for decades, said Changyong “Chase” Cao, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case Western Reserve University.
“At every step, from farm to table, there is lots of loss and waste,” he said. To address both food spoilage and plastic pollution, Cao and a team of researchers are working to develop more sustainable packaging solutions.
With a new grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, they’re developing advanced nanocomposite materials for sustainable food-packaging designed to help food stay fresh longer while reducing the environmental impact.
Cao is leading the three-year project in collaboration with Gary Wnek, professor of macromolecular science and engineering at the Case School of Engineering, and Qin Wang, professor at the University of Maryland. The interdisciplinary team brings together expertise in engineering, polymer materials and food science to address challenges affecting both environmental sustainability and the global food supply.
“Packaging often works quietly in the background, but it has a huge impact,” Cao said. “If we can help food last longer while also reducing environmental harm, the benefits extend across the entire food system.”
According to the World Health Organization, about half of agricultural products spoil because of inadequate packaging, and contaminated food contribute to foodborne illnesses, resulting in about 420,000 deaths annually. In the United States alone, the USDA estimates nearly $161 billion in food loss annually at the retail and consumer levels, much of which could be significantly reduced if product shelf-life were extended even by a day.
These challenges highlight the urgent need for high-performance, next-generation food packaging films capable of extending shelf-life, preserving nutritional quality, communicating product freshness and minimizing food waste... (MORE - details, no ads)