Millions of people in South Africa don't have enough to eat. Still, a third of all the food there is thrown away. Now some producers and supermarkets are giving away food that's past its sell-by date to people in need.

Restaurants in US city of Austin aim for zero food waste.

Nigerian market traders are using solar power cold rooms to store excess produce and reduce food waste.

The plate is designed to make a meal look bigger -- a gastronomic illusion and an innovative way to tame Saudi Arabia's pervasive throwaway culture which results in colossal food waste. Across much of the Gulf lavish displays of food are seen as a cultural totem of generosity and hospitality.

As people across the globe stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic, residential trash has increased dramatically. While on average households used to cook once or twice a day, many are now making at least three meals on a daily basis, generating along the way an abundant yet unexploited resource: food waste.

If food wastage was a country it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, trailing only behind China and the United States. It's time to rewind and rethink the way we treat our food waste. We take a closer look at two initiatives.

An American company has developed a liquid that can extend the shelf life of fruit and vegetables. Apeel is based on natural compounds and controls the factors that cause fruit to age.

A US firm has developed a plant-based liquid which can extend the shelf life of fruit and vegetables. The product is now available in Africa, with the aim of helping reduce food waste across the planet.

The mobile app Tekeya provides suppliers and restaurants in Egypt with a platform to sell their surplus food at reduced prices to customers who order via the application. Meals can also be donated to charities registered on Tekeya.

Ghana's gourmet chef Elijah Addo is reducing food waste and feeding those in need. Once employed by high-end restaurants, Addo today runs West Africa's largest foodbank, and organizing mobile feeding campaigns has become his full-time job.

In France, where 8 million people are food insecure, 10 million tonnes of food are thrown away every year. But initiatives are under way to limit food waste. In the heart of Paris's La Défense business district, the eco-conscious restaurant La Salle à Manger makes cheap meals out of leftovers from local caterers and unsold food from supermarkets.

A third of the food we produce is wasted, emitting as much as 10% of global greenhouse gases. Failed targets to reduce food waste — especially in rich nations — need to be urgently updated at COP27, says UN.