Families could save about €60 a month by wasting less food, a report published on Tuesday finds.
About a third of all food produced in the world is wasted every year, and households are the biggest culprits, accounting for 70 per cent of it in the developed world.
A report from Goodbody Stockbrokers, calculates that Irish homes waste about 55kg of food every year.
Analyst Jason Molins, the report's author, says inflation could prompt shoppers to pay closer attention to spending, renewing their focus on food waste.
Covid lockdowns significantly cut food waste, as they forced people to spend more time at home.
However, Goodbody says the level of waste has increased again as life returned to normal.
Markets role
Mr Molins, Goodbody's food and drink analyst, will present his report at the Food and Beverage Finance 22 Summit in University College Cork this week.
He argues that the capital markets have a role to play by backing companies focused on tackling food waste.
The venture capital market for technology that cuts waste or improves food traceability or kitchen/manufacturing efficiencies, is currently worth $61.9 billion worldwide.
“And that’s expected to reach $85 billion (€81.5 billion) by 2026, with deal activity almost doubling in 2021,” says Mr Molins.
