New study highlights freezer’s potential to reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions

“A national survey found that discarded frozen items make up about 6% of wasted household food in the United States. Based on frozen food’s relatively small contribution to food waste and other findings in the study, researchers say urging consumers to stock their freezers might be one way to prevent premature disposal of food.

Results showed that though overall food waste remained high, there was a bright spot: Freezing food was associated with less food landing in the trash.” (Caldwell, 2024; Xu and Roe, 2024)

“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 and a postdoctoral scholar specializing in agricultural and food economics at The Ohio State University. (Caldwell, 2024; Xu and Roe, 2024)

“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 in the future, if we can encourage households to have home freezing behaviors, this small change in food storage habits can have a large environmental impact.”

“Xu completed the study with graduate student Ran Li and senior author Brian Roe, professor in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at Ohio State. The research was published recently in the British Food Journal.” (Xu and Roe, 2024; Caldwell, 2024)

“Roe has been studying household food waste for years, but this is the first study to tease out where frozen food fits into the food waste picture. Recent estimates have suggested about 30% of food in the United States is wasted, but other research led by Roe suggests consumer food waste is trending upward.” (Caldwell, 2024; Xu and Roe, 2024)

“The fact that food waste is still increasing may suggest to policymakers that campaigns could be useful to educate households about balancing purchasing behavior and making the most of the food they buy,” Xu said.

“The current study data comes from frozen food-related questions added to the summer 2022 wave of the U.S. National Household Food Waste Tracking Survey in which 1,067 households participated. Respondents were asked to estimate the percentage of all discarded food in the previous seven days that had been frozen and whether it was bought frozen or was unfrozen and placed in the freezer later. They also reported the typical frequency of buying frozen foods.

The responses indicated that 85% of U.S. households buy frozen foods and among those, 55% of participants reported they purchased frozen food to reduce waste. Frozen food purchasers were more likely to shop infrequently—two to three times per month—and were more likely to be living in households with annual income of under $50,000. The most common categories of discarded frozen foods were meat (20% of total frozen food waste), vegetables (22%) and potatoes and grains (15% each).” (Caldwell, 2024; Xu and Roe, 2024)

“Based on what we’re seeing among households, we still have space to increase awareness to save food by using freezing behavior,” Xu said.

“Data showed a link between frequent home freezing and significantly less total food waste. Respondents most likely to freeze fresh items or extra food were aged 45 years and older and living in households of three or more people—a possible sign, the authors said, that consumers with a home freezing routine may be more experienced at managing meals for a group and motivated to avoid food waste.” (Caldwell, 2024; Xu and Roe, 2024)

What the team considered somewhat surprising—and enlightening—was the finding that about 30% more of wasted frozen food was discarded from the refrigerator than from the freezer.

“Thinking about why that happens, it might mean they don’t understand food storage techniques and don’t understand how long they should keep certain foods and where they should put it,” Xu said. “This suggests more explicit food storage instructions on food labels could educate consumers about how to correctly store foods to reduce waste.”

“Trends in the data suggest that consumer education about the freezer’s role in saving food could make a difference economically and environmentally, Xu said, and also help address the societal problem of food insecurity experienced by 10% of U.S. households.”

“Half of consumers buy frozen food to reduce waste. What about the other half?” she said. “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. And freezing is one of the most accessible techniques because essentially all households have a refrigerator and freezer.” (Caldwell, 2024; Xu and Roe, 2024)

Below are some tips from the University of British Columbia (December 2024) for reducing food waste during the holiday season and all year round:

What are some tips for reducing food waste? 

To get you started with reducing food waste, here are some simple tips to try: 

• Plan your meals, including planning to eat enough rather than to excess. This can be difficult during the holidays because we want to be good hosts by having lots of food, but having the perfect amount helps reduce waste
• Eat more locally produced, plant-based foods including climate-friendly plants like millet and legumes
• Search online recipes for dishes that use foods left over in your fridge 
• Commit to eating your leftovers and freeze portions early so they’re fresh—and before you get sick of them!
• Share food with your neighbors or folks in your neighborhood who may be alone on the holidays
• When eating meat, think about reducing the quantity and sourcing sustainable options
• Freeze your vegetable scraps like onion skins, the ends of carrots, old herbs etc. to make yummy winter soup stock 

Heavy Duty Bags for Freezing and Stacking Flat

Figure 1. Thick, reusable silcone bags can help prevent freezer burn

How can we foster more sustainable food habits this holiday season? 

Composting and recycling are important. But ultimately, we need to consume less. You can see the waste you’re producing every week as well as your purchasing behaviors, which means you can identify how and what to change. Here are some ideas:

• When grocery shopping, plan ahead and pick up raw ingredients and items with less plastic wrapping 
• Make cookies or candied nuts as a unique personal gift. This can help reduce our reliance on highly processed foods and support home-cooked foods 
• Consider switching to healthy beverages that contain less processed sugar, such as hot apple cider or iced tea (unsweetened)
• Gift a cooking class or a second-hand cookbook to yourself or others to get inspired with creating new.

References

Xu, L., Li, R., Roe, B. Frozen food purchasing and home freezing of fresh foods: associations with household food waste.” British Food Journal. 2024;126(12): 4260-4276. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2024-0147

Caldwell E, The Ohio State University. Study highlights freezer’s potential to reduce waste and emissions. December 23, 2024. Phys.Org. Available at: https://phys-org.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/phys.org/news/2024-12-highlights-freezer-potential-food-emissions.amp

University of British Columbia. How to reduce food waste and feast sustainably this holiday season. December 17, 2024. Available at: https://science.ubc.ca/news/december-17-2024/how-reduce-food-waste-and-feast-sustainably-holiday-season

Perling A, Okamoto K. Expert tips for freezing food and reducing food waste. New York Times. June 23, 2023. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/freezing-food-tips-tools/