Food Safety, Food Loss and Sustainable Consumption: Advancing SDGS 2, 3 and 12

Food safety, food loss and waste, and sustainable consumption are interconnected challenges affecting global food security, public health and environmental sustainability. While food loss and waste reduce the quantity of food available for human consumption and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, unsafe food causes preventable illness, death and economic losses. This article examines the relationship among these issues through the lens of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). It adopts a descriptive and analytical research design based on secondary data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Sustainable Development Goals reporting and the joint United Nations report The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World. The evidence indicates that approximately 13.3% of food was lost globally after harvest and before retail in 2023, while an estimated 1.05 billion tonnes of food were wasted at retail, food-service and household levels in 2022. Meanwhile, WHO’s 2026 estimates indicate that contaminated food caused approximately 866 million illnesses and 1.52 million deaths in 2021. These figures demonstrate the scale of food-system inefficiencies and foodborne disease, although they measure distinct phenomena and cannot establish a direct causal relationship between food waste and foodborne illness. The article argues that food-loss reduction must be accompanied by effective food-safety controls, appropriate storage and transport infrastructure, transparent supply chains, consumer awareness and evidence-based redistribution systems. It proposes an integrated food-systems approach that combines prevention, safety assurance, responsible consumption and accountable governance to support progress towards SDGs 2, 3 and 12.