Hungarians waste over 300,000 tonnes of food annually, representing a total value of more than 170 billion forints (EUR 480m) which translates to 18,000 forints per person, the National Food Chain Safety Office said on Friday.
Food waste is an environmental, economic and also ethical problem, the statement said.
World Food Day was established on a Hungarian proposal by the United Nations in 1979 and the event is marked for the 41st occasion this year in order to raise awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger, and to encourage cooperation, it added.
Similarly to other European Union countries, the largest proportion of food waste in Hungary results from households throwing away food and the National Food Chain Safety Office launched a programme to highlight this issue in 2016, it said.
Featured photo illustration by Attila Balázs/MTI
