#FoodWaste: EU's response to a global challenge

Around 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually in the EU – around 20% of all food produced, with associated costs estimated at 143 billion euros.

What is food waste?

Food waste is waste which is generated in the production, distribution and consumption of food. In order to fight food waste we need to understand where we lose food, how much and why. This is why, as part of the Circular Economy Package adopted in 2015, the Commission will elaborate a methodology to measure food waste.

This methodology will illustrate, in the light of EU definitions of "food" and "waste", what material is regarded as food waste and what is not, at each stage of the food supply chain. Consistent measurement of food waste levels in the EU and reporting will allow Member States and actors in the food value chain to compare and monitor food waste levels, and thereby assess the effectiveness of food waste prevention initiatives.

What is the scale of the problem?

Food waste is a significant concern in Europe: it is estimated that around 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually in the EU – around 20% of all food produced – with related costs valued at 143 billion euros. Food is lost or wasted along the whole food supply chain: on the farm, in processing and manufacture, in shops, in restaurants and canteens, and at home. Food waste puts undue pressure on finite natural resources and the environment.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, approximately one-third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted, requiring cropland area the size of China and generating about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Apart from its significant economic and environmental impacts, food waste also has an important economic and social angle in a world where over 800 million people suffer from hunger – the recovery and redistribution of surplus food should be facilitated so that safe, edible food can reach those who need it the most.

Is the EU already doing something about it? What about national policies?

Since 2012, the Commission has engaged and worked actively with all actors to identify where food waste occurs in the food chain, where barriers to food waste prevention have been encountered and areas where actions are needed at EU level. This has laid the foundation for the elaboration of an integrated action plan to tackle food waste presented as part of the Circular Economy package.

In order to be effective, food waste prevention requires action at all levels (global, EU, national, regional and local) and engagement of all key players in order to build integrated programmes required to implement change throughout the food value chain. At national level, some Member States have developed national food waste prevention programmes which have already delivered concrete results.

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 including a target to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains. The EU and its Member States are committed to meeting this goal.

What is the Commission proposing to re-launch the EU's action in this area?

The Commission's Circular Economy Package has singled out food waste prevention as a priority area for action and calls on Member States to reduce food waste generation in line with Sustainable Development Goals. The new waste legislation proposal requires Member States to reduce food waste at each stage of the food supply chain, monitor food waste levels and report back in order to facilitate exchange between actors on progress made.

The Commission's action plan to prevent food waste in the EU includes:

• developing common EU methodology to measure food waste and defining relevant indicators (implementing act to be put forward following adoption of the Commission's proposal to revise the Waste Framework Directive);
• establishing an EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, which brings together Member States and all actors of the food chain, to help define the measures needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals on food waste and share best practice and results achieved;
• taking measures to clarify EU legislation relating to waste, food and feed, and facilitate food donation as well as the valorisation of former foodstuffs and by-products as animal feed without compromising food and feed safety;
• examining ways to improve the use of date marking by actors of the food chain and its understanding by consumers, in particular the "best before" label.

The Commission may also invite additional organizations, on an ad hoc basis, to meetings of the Platform or its sub-groups in order to provide additional expertise in specific subject areas.

The Commission will regularly publish on its website the information on the Platform's work and aims to webstream meetings of the Platform to expand its outreach.

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