Consumer confusion exacerbates the issue. In the US, 6 per cent of waste – 3 billion pounds worth $7 billion – stems from misreading labels like “Sell by” (for retailers) or “Best if used by” (peak quality), prompting premature discards of safe food.
If the framework is standardised nationally and backed with logistics, cold-chain infrastructure and digital procurement platforms, it could become a transformative element in India’s food-economy ecosystem.
The mission emphasised that “standing with Afghan women” requires more than symbolic gestures: it requires resources, policy pressure, and the international will to ensure that women in Afghanistan can live with dignity and safety.
It demands not just emergency medical resources, but long-term planning – from urban infrastructure to water governance – to break the cycle of mosquito-borne disease.