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Researchers urge homeowners to stock their freezers after stunning results of new study: 'A bright spot'

"This small change in food storage habits can have a large … impact."

"This small change in food storage habits can have a large ... impact."

Photo Credit: iStock

A team of researchers at The Ohio State University has some simple advice for homeowners: Load up your freezers. Not only does stashing your food like leftover pasta and brownies extend their life, but it also plays a huge role in keeping you from throwing out edible food.

The team shared the illuminating results of the first-of-its-kind study examining frozen food's place in the food waste picture. Frozen food was characterized as "a bright spot" by the researchers.

"We found that households with home freezing behaviors are more likely to have less food waste than other households," said Lei Xu, first author of the paper, in a news release. 

The study found that frozen food only accounts for around 6% of discarded food waste. Getting more households on board could make a big dent with greater ripple effects. Right now a concerning 30% of food is wasted.

"Food waste is not just an economic loss – it also causes environmental damage because more than 90% of wasted food goes to the landfill, and this can produce greenhouse gas emissions," Xu said. "The findings suggest that … if we can encourage households to have home freezing behaviors, this small change in food storage habits can have a large environmental impact."

Other notable findings of the study were that 85% of consumers buy frozen foods, and 55% do so in part to reduce their waste. When it came to freezing fresh or extra food, respondents 45 years and up were more likely to have a home freezing routine. The authors theorized that was because those consumers might be more motivated to eschew food waste and were more seasoned at feeding a large group. 

Another interesting data point was that frozen food thrown out from the refrigerator surprisingly was 30% higher than that tossed from the freezer. 

"This suggests more explicit food storage instructions on food labels could educate consumers about how to correctly store foods to reduce waste," Xu asserted. 

The team was also interested in educating the 45% of respondents who don't buy frozen foods to reduce their waste and the 15% who don't buy them at all. Xu called a freezer one of the "most accessible techniques" for households to fight food insecurity, which plagues 10% of Americans.

What's your biggest motivation in trying to reduce your personal food waste?

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I don't think about reducing food waste 🤷

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"We want to increase social awareness of how to save food, and explain how people use frozen food and home freezing techniques to save food," Xu concluded.

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