More than 30 food companies, wholesalers and convenient store chains started a test this month with the support of the farm ministry and other government bodies to reduce "food loss."

Hopefully the test will help lay a foundation for nationwide efforts to reduce the amount of edible food discarded by food companies, retailers and households.

According to the farm ministry, more than 18 million tons of food was discarded in fiscal 2010, of which 5 million to 8 million tons are believed to have still been edible. Throwing away a large amount of food is unethical and should be stopped. It is said that one of every eight people in poor countries is undernourished.