Statistics showing the vast extent of food wasted in Britain’s hospital catering sector have been questioned by the industry’s representative body.

Last week’s Parliamentary Questions revealed that more than 55,000 meals were thrown away every day in Britain’s hospitals, with more than half of patients losing weight or becoming undernourished while admitted.

However, the claims have been questioned by the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA), which has called for further analysis.

“We had not seen that information before, and need to validate and source the data," said a spokeswoman. "This seems to take only one element of waste in isolation. We need to assess waste in the whole food chain to get the full picture."

Buy this week's Caterer magazine for more industry news and analysis