Each year, roughly one billion tonnes of edible food is wasted worldwide—nearly one-fifth of the food available to consumers. The scale of this loss has consequences far beyond the contents of discarded meals. Food that is never eaten represents a missed opportunity to nourish people, while the resources and work invested in producing, processing and moving it are also squandered.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that 13.2 per cent of food is lost after harvest and before it reaches retail markets, representing about USD 400 billion in economic losses. A further 19 per cent is wasted at retail and consumer levels. These figures describe different stages of the food supply chain, from farms and storage facilities to shops, restaurants and households. Losses can result from inadequate handling or storage, transport challenges, processing constraints, market practices and consumer behaviour.
When food is lost or thrown away, so too are the water, land, energy and labour used to produce it. This unnecessary use of resources can increase pressure on ecosystems and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Waste can also add to pollution, while expanding demand for agricultural land may intensify habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. Reducing losses is therefore both a food security priority and an important part of efforts to use natural resources more responsibly.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), working with the FAO through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, supports countries in applying science-based methods to address these challenges. Its work helps strengthen food systems by improving the safety, quality and durability of food, including through suitable nuclear and related techniques. By helping identify where losses occur and how they can be prevented, this collaboration enables countries to make more food available for people while reducing the environmental and economic costs of waste.
Food irradiation is a controlled, non-invasive treatment that uses gamma rays, X-rays or electron beams to reduce microorganisms and pests responsible for food spoilage. The process does not cook food or make it radioactive; it applies energy to disrupt organisms that can cause decay or carry disease. Depending on the food and treatment, irradiation can slow ripening, inhibit sprouting, and control insects or bacteria. It can therefore help preserve produce, grains and spices while retaining the product’s basic character. For example, refrigerated strawberries treated appropriately may last up to seven days longer. Longer usable life gives growers, packers and retailers more time to move goods through supply chains without quality declining as quickly. That additional margin can reduce losses during transport and storage, especially when delays or temperature fluctuations occur.
Food safety decisions also determine whether edible products remain in use. Nuclear and nuclear-derived analytical methods can reveal contaminants, pesticide residues and other hazards with speed and precision. X-ray fluorescence measures elemental composition, helping detect metals or other unwanted elements. Neutron activation analysis can identify trace elements by measuring characteristic signals produced after neutron exposure. Stable-isotope techniques can trace the origin of ingredients, investigate adulteration or support verification of production claims. Advanced laboratory diagnostics, including methods for detecting microbes and chemical residues, provide complementary evidence. Used together, these tools help laboratories assess samples rather than rely on appearance or suspicion alone.
Reliable results allow regulators, inspectors and food businesses to distinguish products that pose a safety risk from those that meet required standards. When evidence identifies a hazard, authorities can target a recall or withdrawal instead of removing a category unnecessarily. Conversely, confirmation that a lot is safe can prevent disposal of food. Testing supports proportionate decisions, strengthens consumer protection and reduces avoidable waste in supply chains.
Food losses often begin in the field, where crops face drought, salty soils, insect pests and disease. Nuclear techniques can support farmers by helping plant breeders develop varieties better able to withstand these pressures. Mutation breeding uses radiation to create genetic variation, accelerating a process that occurs naturally. Breeders then select plants with useful characteristics and cross them into improved varieties. The method does not make crops radioactive; it provides additional variation for conventional selection and breeding.
Selected varieties may offer higher yields and greater resilience to environmental stress, pests or diseases. More robust plants can mean fewer crops lost before harvest and more reliable production, particularly in challenging growing conditions. Where plants are less vulnerable to pests and disease, farmers may also be able to reduce pesticide use, alongside other measures in integrated pest management. This can help limit costs and environmental impacts while protecting the harvest. The results depend on careful testing and on choosing varieties suited to local climates, soils and farming practices.
In Mauritius, scientists worked with support from the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre to develop a cauliflower variety resistant to black rot, a bacterial disease that can damage crops and reduce their marketability. The example shows how radiation-induced plant breeding can help address a specific threat to production. Another nuclear-based approach targets insect pests directly: the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). Large numbers of a target insect are reared, sterilized using ionizing radiation and released into the field. Sterile males mate with wild females, but the pairings produce no offspring. Repeated releases can therefore reduce pest populations over time without introducing chemicals to the crop.
SIT has helped the Dominican Republic control or eradicate major insect pests, protecting agricultural production and supporting access to export markets. By reducing damage before harvest, both resilient crop varieties and targeted pest control can preserve more food for people to use. These approaches are not substitutes for sound farming practice; they can complement monitoring, suitable crop management and other safeguards. Their value lies in preventing losses at an early stage, before damaged produce is harvested, stored or transported.
Fresh produce, meat, dairy and seafood can lose value while shipments wait for inspection, laboratory results or confirmation that they comply with import rules. At busy border points, even a short delay can matter: temperature-sensitive goods continue to age, and interruptions to refrigerated storage can accelerate spoilage. Reliable testing is therefore not only a matter of public health and fair trade; it can also help keep food moving before it becomes unsaleable.
Nuclear and isotopic techniques give laboratories tools to assess food authenticity, quality and safety. They can help verify where a product came from or how it was produced, identify substitution or other forms of adulteration, and detect harmful contaminants, including residues that may threaten consumers or trade. Testing can also check whether characteristics stated on labels are supported by evidence. For example, isotope analysis can reveal clues about geographic origin, while other analytical methods can screen for particular contaminants. Together with appropriate sampling and quality controls, these approaches provide dependable information for regulators, producers and buyers.
When testing and certification are timely, shipments may spend less time awaiting decisions at borders and at other points in the supply chain. Clear results help authorities target inspection resources, resolve concerns and confirm compliance, while dependable documentation can reduce avoidable hold-ups. Faster processes do not mean weaker safeguards: accurate analysis supports informed decisions, protects consumers and helps honest businesses meet requirements. By reducing unnecessary delays, it can lower the chance that perishable food spoils before reaching shops, processors or households.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) support countries in applying these capabilities. Through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre and the Atoms4Food initiative, they work with national partners to strengthen agricultural productivity, food safety and quality. This wider effort also addresses food loss and waste and advances food security and nutrition. Combining sound science with stronger institutions and practical expertise can help countries protect food supplies, facilitate trade and make more of the food already produced available for people to use.
