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Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025

Does half of the food in the US go to waste? 

Brian Arola, MinnPost
no

Although a significant portion of food goes to waste in the U.S., the percentage is below 50%, according to food organizations.

Federal agencies estimate that between 30%-40% of food is wasted, making it the most common material in the country to be incinerated or dumped into landfills. Feeding America, a network of food banks, puts the wasted food figure at 38%.

Misunderstandings about expiration dates by both consumers and retailers contribute to food waste. Consumers throw out about 3 billion pounds of food each year as a result of date-label confusion. 

A product being past its “best if used by” or “sell-by” date doesn’t mean it’s spoiled. Unless spoilage is evident, “expired” food can still be safe to eat past its peak quality.

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