The Food Loss and Waste database is the largest online collection of data on both food loss and food waste and causes reported throughout the literature. The database contains data and information from openly accessible reports and studies measuring food loss and waste across food products, stages of the value chain, and geographical areas.

In October 2019, more than 480 publications and reports from various sources (e.g., subnational reports, academic studies, and reports from national and international organizations such as the World Bank, GIZ, FAO, IFPRI, and other sources), which have produced more than 20 thousand data points, were included. Data can be queried, downloaded, and plotted in an interactive and structured way. The database can be used by anyone who wishes to know more about food losses and waste.
Sustainable Development Goal Indicator 12.3 states “By 2030, to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.”

To help monitor the state of food loss, FAO conducted an extensive review of literature in the public domain which gathered data and information from almost 500 publications, reports, and studies from various sources (including from organizations like the World Bank, GIZ, FAO, IFPRI, and more).
The data from this review is held within the interactive Food Loss and Waste Database which allows for micro and macro analysis of different sets of data.

The database allows users to filter food loss and waste information by:
year
country
commodity
stage of the value chain and activity

Moving from global food loss and waste estimates to the commodity, country, and stage level will vastly improve our knowledge of the food losses problem and present opportunities for intervention. In terms of working towards SDG Indicator 12.3.1, the improved food loss and waste estimates will allow us to improve technical assistance on a country level. he variability in the available data show the need to measure losses carefully and with reliable methods. More importantly, the gaps in the data by country, commodity, and for entire tracts of the supply chain call all stakeholders to act to increase the quality and quantity of available data. A sound evidence base is critically needed to support good investment and policy decisions.

The 2019 State of Food and Agriculture on Food Loss and Waste incorporates modelled loss estimates that stem from the first dataset batch from the database. The food loss estimation model was developed by FAO Statistics Division in 2016-2018 and serves as a basis for the SDG process in the absence of actual data.

Food loss is the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by food suppliers in the chain, excluding retailers, food service providers and consumers (SOFA, 2019).

Food waste refers to the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers and consumers (SOFA, 2019).