Households in Malaysia waste up to 97kg of food per person each year, stats show

PUTRAJAYA, July 2 — Food waste among households in Malaysia is estimated at between 31.9 kilogrammes (kg) to 97.3kg per capita annually, said Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

He said that based on the National Household Indicators Survey (NHIS) 2025, food waste is more significant for processed or cooked food compared to raw food, with 94.1 per cent of households reported to have thrown away processed or cooked food compared to 88.7 per cent for raw food.

“These findings show that a large portion of food waste occurs after food has been prepared, highlighting the importance of better household practices in terms of meal planning, food preparation and managing leftovers,” he said in a statement today.

He said that 79.3 per cent of households dispose of food together with other household waste, while only 20.7 per cent practise food waste separation.

He added that this showed that food waste separation is still not a common practice among households, thus posing a challenge to efforts to improve the efficiency of organic waste management and reduce reliance on landfill sites.

Mohd Uzir said that going by food type, vegetables were the most wasted category of raw food at 29.1 per cent, followed by fruits (22.4 per cent) and fish or seafood (15 per cent).

As for processed or cooked food, he said rice (16.7 per cent) recorded the highest wastage rate, followed by vegetables (15.8 per cent) and food bought from outside (13.8 per cent).

“This pattern shows that food waste mainly involves fresh food that is perishable as well as staple foods that are commonly prepared in large quantities,” he said.

He said 19.3 per cent of food waste was due to expiration, while other factors included storing leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer for too long (18.1 per cent), over-purchasing (15.2 per cent) and cooking in excessive quantities (15.1 per cent).

“These findings show that food waste is largely influenced by food management practices at the household level, especially in terms of purchasing planning, food storage and portion control in food preparation,” he added.

Mohd Uzir said the pattern of household food waste in Malaysia was generally in line with the global trend of 79kg per capita per year.

However, he said Malaysia has its own local characteristics, influenced by the eating habits of the community, especially the wastage of rice and vegetables

“The information produced will support evidence-based policy formulation and raise public awareness on the importance of more efficient food management practices, thus contributing to the achievement of the country’s sustainable development agenda,” he added. — Bernama