The Foods Americans Waste the Most May Surprise You

The post The Foods Americans Waste the Most May Surprise You first appeared on Crafting Your Home.

Americans waste a remarkable amount of food, but the foods experiencing the biggest losses aren’t necessarily the ones you might expect.

A new analysis published September 21, 2026, examined historical U.S. food-loss data from the Food and Agriculture Organization covering 2000 through 2022. Rather than looking only at what households throw away, the analysis considered losses across different stages of the food supply chain, including harvesting and retail.

Fruit Juice Has One of the Biggest Loss Rates

Across the juice commodities included in the dataset, the average loss rate was 32.66%, substantially higher than the overall average of 10.20% across all commodities studied. The analysis found that half of the juice commodities had losses between 25% and 42%, with a median of roughly 34%.

That doesn’t mean that a third of every bottle of juice purchased by American households is thrown away. The figure represents the analysis’s estimate across the supply processes represented in the underlying data.

Vegetables Are Another Major Source of Loss

Some vegetables showed much higher losses than others, producing substantial variation within the group. The analysis identified commodities including green garlic, tomatoes, okra, and spinach among those with elevated loss rates.

So, for vegetables, both how much is sold and how quickly a product is lost matter.

Fruits Tell a Different Story

That doesn’t mean fruit waste is insignificant.

Nuts and Animal Products Had Lower Loss Rates

Nuts had an average loss rate of 2.17%, while animal products averaged 2.06%. The analysis cautions that these categories contained only three commodities each, so the results are based on a smaller sample.

Among the individual commodities examined, sheep meat had a loss rate close to zero, while walnuts were also among the lowest.

Why the Numbers Can Be Confusing

EPA’s current food-waste data, for example, tracks wasted food across residential households, food retail, food service, and food and beverage manufacturing and processing.

The Household Waste Problem Is Still Significant

The EPA estimates that more than one-third of food in the United States goes uneaten. Its 2025 analysis estimated the cost of food waste at about $728 per U.S. consumer each year, or approximately $2,913 annually for a household of four.

That makes food waste more than an environmental issue. It also means households are paying for food that ultimately isn’t consumed.

And the problem isn’t limited to what’s left on a dinner plate.

What This Means at Home

Instead, the data suggests that how people purchase, store, and use food matters.

For produce, buying quantities you can realistically use before they spoil can reduce unnecessary waste. Checking the refrigerator before grocery shopping can prevent duplicate purchases. Planning a few meals around ingredients already at home can also help you use food before it is forgotten.

When a food item is nearing the end of its usable life, finding a way to incorporate it into another meal can be better than throwing it away.

The Bigger Picture

The newest U.S. analysis offers an interesting reminder: the food-waste problem isn’t concentrated in one simple category.

But the numbers tell only part of the story.

For people at home, the simplest place to start may be the refrigerator.