Quantifying food loss along the animal products supply chain in China with large-scale field-survey based primary data

•China's supply chain losses of animal products was quantified for the first time.•A large-scale field-survey method was used to generate primary data.•Loss rate of meat, aquatic, dairy, and egg products were 6.4%, 10.2%, 5.6%, and 4.1%, respectively.•Animal food loss caused high energy (2.1 × 1013 kcals) and protein (1.5 × 1012 g) losses. Addressing food loss along the supply chain in developing countries is often hindered by low quantity and quality of food loss data. This is particularly important for the animal products supply chain of China, the world's most populous country that is experiencing dietary structure change towards more animal-based food. Here, we aim to address this important gap based on primary data obtained from a large-scale field survey conducted during 2015–2019, which covers the entire supply chain of major animal products (pork, beef, lamb, poultry, aquatic products, dairy products, and eggs). In the survey, a stratified sampling method was used and eventually over 510 sampled enterprises in 23 provinces across China were included in the questionnaire survey and semi-structured one-on-one interviews. We show that the normalized total loss rate of meat, aquatic products, dairy products, and eggs were 6.4%, 10.2%, 5.6%, and 4.1%, respectively, of their total production. Such losses would add up to 4.9 million tons, 3.8 million tons, 1.7 million tons, and 1.1 million tons, respectively, based on China's average production of meat, aquatic products, dairy products, and eggs between 2015 and 2019. Considering the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes for adults, these losses equal to an energy feeding potential of 26.2 million adults and a protein feeding potential of 56.4 million adults. While China's animal product loss rate is comparably lower than that of industrialized countries, addressing such increasing loss still deserves special attention and mitigation efforts, considering further dietary structure change and pressing environmental challenges in the future.