“As consumers, we often assume that most of food waste is generated by supermarkets and the hospitality industry, but about 53 percent of food is actually tossed out by households,” said Tanja Popovic-Filipovic, project coordinator for Croatia for the European Commission.

Every year Croatia throws away around 380,000 tonnes of food, and across the European Union this figure reaches an incredible 88 million tonnes, according to a new study from the European Commission.

One-person households are the biggest generators of food waste, followed by persons who live in urban areas, families with higher incomes, and those with small children, added Filipovic.

A target has been set by the European Commission to cut down the current figure by 50 percent by 2030.

“There are two labels on products – “best before” and “expiry date”, and many people do not understand what those dates mean. We are currently conducting research on four product categories related to their expiry date, which will be published on the occasion of World Food Day on October 16,” said Darja Sokolić, head of Croatian Food Agency (HAH).