Saudi Arabia shares tips to prevent food waste during Ramadan

To prevent food waste during the holy month of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia’s General Food Security Authority (GFSA) has issued several tips that can help those fasting prepare more sustainable meals and Iftars.

The tips, shared on social media, are part of a campaign launched last week by GFSA’s National Program for Reducing Food Loss and Waste in the Kingdom.

The campaign which aims to raise awareness about food security and preventing food waste also encourages people to maintain good and healthy consumption practices.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), GFSA noted that the rate of food loss and waste in the Kingdom is about 33 percent and the value of food waste is estimated at $10.66 billion (40 billion riyals) annually.

To help prevent this, the campaign urges people to first set what meals they want on their Iftar tables, to diversify the food choices but in lesser quantities and to preserve the remaining food in tight containers to be consumed later.

It also called on people to maintain a middle ground when making food and not to make unnecessary large quantities particularly when it comes to rice.

“Rice is a main meal and it’s wasted in large quantities,” the campaign said in a post on its Twitter account, adding that the percentage of food waste of rice is 31 percent.

The same goes for dates.

Dates are an essential element in Ramadan and are usually eaten to break the fast. However, the campaign notes that the amount of dates wasted is estimated at more than 36 thousand tons annually.

Additionally, the campaign notes that preparing a grocery list before heading to the supermarket is a good strategy that allows people to reduce buying products they don’t need.

It helps with “cutting out time [spent at the supermarket], saves money and [helps] stop wasting food.”