EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste

Interested in contributing to EU efforts to fight food loss and waste? The Commission has launched today a public call for applications for private sector organisations to join the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste for its second mandate (2022-2026).

Reducing food loss and waste is an integral part of the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy and is key to achieving a sustainable food system. The Platform will contribute to key deliverables foreseen by the Strategy such as the future Commission proposals to establish legally binding targets to reduce food waste across the EU and the revision of EU date marking rules. It will help the Commission investigate food losses at the production stage and will encourage implementation of the Platform’s key recommendations for action in food waste prevention, showing the way forward for all actors.

Importantly, the Platform will continue to mobilise all key players - Member States, food businesses and civil society – to take and scale-up action needed to accelerate the EU’s progress towards Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030 and to reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains.

Launched in 2016, the Platform has played a pivotal role in advancing and coordinating food loss and waste prevention efforts at EU level. The Platform provides a forum of open dialogue on food loss and waste prevention, supporting all actors in defining measures needed to prevent food waste, sharing best practice and evaluating progress made over time. It brings together all relevant actors: public entities (national administrations in the EU-27 and EFTA countries, EU bodies and international organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations Environment Programme) as well as actors in the food value chain including consumer and other non-governmental organisations.

A call for applications for private sector organisations with expertise and proven track record in food waste prevention to re-establish, together with public entities, the European Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste has opened today, and will run until 23 July 2021. All relevant information and documents are available on the dedicated web page.