Retail Food Waste and Estimated Nutrient Losses in Urban Areas of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Food waste is a global problem with social, nutritional and environmental implications affecting the sustainability of the food chain. In Tanzania, food waste coexists with food and nutrition insecurity, however, its extent and its nutritional impact remain unclear. This study sought to quantify food waste from selected fresh produce in Dar es Salaam's retail markets and estimate the associated nutrient losses per-vendor per day. Data was collected from three districts namely: Kinondoni, Ubungo and Temeke. A total of 108 fresh food vendors collected their daily food waste of pre-selected fresh food produce items namely bananas, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and amaranth for seven days. These waste samples were measured daily on a weighing scale and recorded. Measurement of 108 samples daily for 7 days resulted in a total of 756 sample recordings obtained. Data in mean kilograms of waste was then calculated using standardized conversion factors to nutrient compositions using Tanzania food composition tables to estimate nutrient losses embedded in wasted fresh food. The data was further presented as recommended intakes for additional context. Of the selected foods, bananas produced the highest amount of waste with a daily mean of 13.9 kg ± 13.1 (SD) per-vendor, tomatoes produced a daily mean of 10.1kg ± 6.9 (SD); potatoes 8.5kg ± 6.3 (SD); cabbage 4 kg ± 3.0 (SD); carrots 3.4 kg ± 1.6 (SD), while amaranth was the least wasted with a daily mean of 0.2kg ± 1.0 (SD) wasted. Food wasted at the retail level of the Dar es Salaam food supply contained 3,643 Kcal, 93.4 g protein, 147 g dietary fiber, 6,429 µg vitamin A, 1,371 µg folate, 66.3 mg iron and 20,936 mg potassium per-vendor per day indicating notable nutritional losses embedded in food wasted at the retail level of the Dar es Salaam food supply.