Why do food-waste numbers never match? (19, 56, 62, 69 or 145 kg)
Food-waste figures differ because they measure different things: edible food only or peels and bones too, homes only or the whole supply chain, France or the EU. For France in 2024, SDES counts 19 kg of edible food wasted per person at home, 62 kg of all food waste at home and 145 kg along the whole chain.
Search for how much food the French throw away and you will find 19 kg, 30 kg, 56 kg, 62 kg, 69 kg, 129 kg and 145 kg, sometimes on the same page. Most of them are correct. They answer different questions, and three switches explain almost all of the difference.
Edible food only, or peels and bones too?
French households produced 4.3 million tonnes of food waste in 2024, or 62 kg per person. About 69% of it is inedible: peels, bones, coffee grounds. The edible part, food that could have been eaten, is 1.3 million tonnes, or 19 kg per person [1].
Anti-waste campaigns usually talk about the 19 kg. EU statistics usually talk about the 62.
Only homes, or the whole food chain?
Edible food lost per person in France, 2024 [1]:
| Stage | kg per person |
|---|---|
| Farms and production | 15 |
| Processing | 10 |
| Shops | 4 |
| Restaurants and canteens | 8 |
| Homes | 19 |
| Whole chain | 56 |
With inedible parts included, the whole chain produces 10 million tonnes of food waste, or 145 kg per person [1].
France, the EU or the world?
Eurostat publishes figures for every EU country, always counting edible and inedible food together. In 2024 the EU average was 69 kg per person in homes and 129 kg across all sectors. France, in the same series: 62 kg in homes (an estimate) and 145 kg in total [2]. Every country's figures are in How much food do households throw away in each EU country?
The UN's Food Waste Index 2024 gives a world figure for homes: 79 kg per person, using 2022 data [3]. Like Eurostat, it counts inedible parts too. But for most countries the UN figures are modelled rather than measured, so we don't put them side by side with Eurostat's.
Is France above or below the EU average?
Both. In homes it is below (62 against 69 kg). Across the whole chain it is above (145 against 129 kg). A headline that says simply "above" or "below" has picked one of the two.
Why can't I compare 2024 with earlier years?
SDES changed its method and says the 2024 figures cannot be compared with earlier years [1]. Eurostat revises past data too: its 2026 release corrected 24 figures for 2020–2023 [2]. For countries that reported every year, Eurostat describes EU food waste as stable at 128–129 kg per person from 2020 to 2024.
The older "29 kg per person" for France comes from an ADEME study published in 2016 [4]. Useful history, not today's number.
Which number should you quote?
| Question | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Edible food a person in France throws away at home | 19 kg a year | SDES, 2024 |
| … per average household | ≈ 41 kg a year | our calculation from SDES and INSEE |
| All food waste at home, peels and bones included | 62 kg | SDES and Eurostat, 2024 |
| Edible food lost across the French food chain | 56 kg | SDES, 2024 |
| All food waste in France | 145 kg | SDES, 2024 |
| Household food waste, EU average | 69 kg | Eurostat, 2024 |
| All food waste, EU average | 129 kg | Eurostat, 2024 |
Whatever you quote, quote what it counts next to it.
How we calculated
The per-household figure is 19 kg × 2.14 people per household (INSEE, 2023) ≈ 41 kg; the details are in How much food does a French household throw away in a year? Everything else in the table is taken from SDES or Eurostat as published. The EU's 2030 target is described in the Directive (EU) 2025/1892 [5].
Questions
Which number is right?
All of them, for different questions. The mistake is putting two of them side by side without saying what each counts.
Is food waste in the EU going down?
Eurostat calls the level stable between 2020 and 2024. The EU's target is a 30% cut per person by the end of 2030 across shops, restaurants and homes combined, measured against the 2021–2023 average.
Does Eurostat count peels and bones?
Yes. Its figures include inedible parts, and it does not publish a separate figure for edible food.
Sources
- SDES (2026). Déchets et gaspillage alimentaires en France en 2024
- Eurostat (2026). Food waste and food waste prevention – estimates
- UNEP (2024). Food Waste Index Report 2024
- ADEME (2016). Pertes et gaspillages alimentaires : l'état des lieux et leur gestion par étapes de la chaîne alimentaire
- European Parliament Legislative Observatory (2025). Directive (EU) 2025/1892, summary