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D I E T A N D H E A LT H
F I N D I N G S
New Loss Estimates Suggest Higher
Vegetable and Protein Consumption
Daily calories available, 2006
3,000
2,500
2,695.1
Total calories/day
2,666.7
129.3
Vegetables
134.2
490.6
Meat/poultry/
fish/eggs/nuts
569.2
617.0
Grains
2,000
1,500
91.2
259.8
1,000
500
468.8
638.6
Fruit
607.6
Dairy
84.5
236.2
Added sugars
448.1
Added fats
and oils
586.9
0
Current
ERS estimates
Source: USDA, Economic Research Service.
W W W. E R S .U S DA .G OV / A M B E R WAV E S
RTI
estimates
Jean C. Buzby, [email protected]
Hodan Farah Wells, [email protected]
This finding is drawn from . . .
Consumer-Level Food Loss Estimates and Their Use in the ERS LossAdjusted Food Availability Data, by M.K. Muth, S.A. Karns, S.J.
Nielsen, J.C. Buzby, and H.F. Wells, TB-1927, USDA, Economic
Research Service, January 2010, available at: www.ers.usda.gov/
publications/tb1927/
5
A M B E R WAV ES
Using RTI International’s new food loss estimates
would slightly reduce calorie availability
Perishables Group, Inc., with consumption data from the National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES) to estimate annual consumer-level losses for approximately 200
foods.
For some foods, t he new RT I
estimates and the original ERS loss
estimates are similar. For example, ERS
assumed 13 percent of provolone cheese
is lost annually at the consumer level,
while the RTI estimate is 14 percent. RTI
loss estimates for fresh pumpkin, Swiss
cheese, and lard are much higher than
those previously used by ERS, while RTI
estimates for chicken, lamb, and frozen
potatoes are lower. These differences
could stem from changes in food demand
Jill Buzby
and preparation habits or simply from
different measurement techniques.
If all of RTI’s food loss estimates are adopted, changes to ERS’s
current Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data would vary for individual foods. Changes over entire food groups, however, would be
small. The most affected group would be meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and
nuts. Using RTI estimates would increase annual food availability
for this group by 22.6 pounds per person, or 14.7 percent. Grain and
grain products would have the smallest change—a decrease of 2.1
pounds per person, or 1.5 percent.
Overall, using RTI’s proposed estimates would reduce estimated
total per capita availability by 10.1 pounds of food per year, or roughly
28 fewer calories per day, for the average American. ERS plans to use
many of the RTI loss estimates in its loss-adjusted data series.
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 11
Each year, ERS estimates the amount of food available for consumption in the U.S. By summing production, beginning stocks, and
imports, and subtracting exports, ending stocks, and nonfood uses,
ERS calculates the total supply of hundreds of foods. But supply or
availability does not equate to consumption. Bones, peels, and other
inedible parts are discarded, spoilage losses occur throughout the
marketing system, and not everything on the dinner plate makes it
into our stomachs. From kids feeding vegetables to the dog to family
members refusing to eat leftovers again, not all the food we buy or
prepare is actually consumed.
ERS researchers recognize this discrepancy and adjust the Food
Availability data for nonedible parts and food losses from farm to
retail, at retail, and at the consumer level. Good information exists to adjust for nonedible shares and losses at the retail level, but
consumer-level food loss is not as well documented. These losses
vary greatly depending on a food’s perishability, how it is used (as
an ingredient or eaten as is), and whether it is typically consumed
by children or adults.
ERS contracted with the research organization RTI International
to develop updated consumer-level loss estimates. RTI researchers compared purchase data from Nielsen Homescan and