What we are doing
The European Commission is taking the issue of tackling food waste very seriously. Reducing food waste has enormous potential for reducing the resources we use to produce the food we eat. Being more efficient will save food for human consumption, save money and lower the environmental impact of food production and consumption.
The EU is committed to meeting the Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030, and reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains.
The Commission has already carried out important steps to prevent food losses and waste, in line with the actions put forward under the first Circular Economy Action Plan adopted in 2015. These actions include elaborating a common EU methodology to measure food waste consistently; establishing the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste; taking measures to clarify EU legislation related to waste, food and feed and facilitate food donation and use of food no longer intended for human consumption in animal feed; and examining ways to improve the use of date marking by actors in the food chain and its understanding by consumers.
The Farm to Fork Strategy, adopted in 2020 by the Commission as part of the European Green Deal, put forwards actions to enable the transition to a sustainable EU food system, including reducing food loss and waste.
Timeline
- 2015
Publication of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, which includes the SDG target 12.3 “By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses”.
- December 2015
Communication on Circular Economy, with Food waste reduction identified as a priority area for action.
- November 2016- December 2021
First mandate of the EU Platform on food losses and Food Waste.
- October 2017
- April 2018
EU Guidelines for the feed use of food no longer intended for human consumption.
- December 2019
Key recommendations from the EU Platform on food losses and Food Waste.
- May 2020
Farm to Fork Strategy to step up action to prevent food loss and waste across the EU.
- September 2021
Launch of the EU food Loss and Waste Prevention Hub.
- October 2021- June 2024
Launch of the European Consumer Food Waste Forum project, with the aim to tackle food waste at consumption level (both in- and out-of-home).
- January 2022- December 2026
Second mandate of the EU Platform on food losses and Food Waste.
- April 2022
Launch of the yearly action grants, under the Single Market Programme, to help Member States and stakeholders improve food waste measurement and implement FW prevention actions, in collaboration with the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA).
- December 2022 – February 2023
European citizens’ panel on food waste, resulting in 23 recommendations for the Commission, Member States and stakeholders.
- July 2023
Commission adoption of a proposal to set legally binding food waste reduction targets as part of the revision of the Waste Framework Directive [ongoing negotiations between the co-legislators].
- June 2024
Publication of the digital toolkit to support consumer food waste actions, based on the compendium.
- September 2024
Campaign "Zero Waste, More Taste!" with recipes from chefs across the EU.
Collaboration with EU member states and stakeholders
The Commission is engaging in discussions with industry, consumer and other NGOs, research institutes and EU countries policy experts how to reduce food loss and waste and options for possible EU actions.
In 2014, the Commission established a dedicated Working Group, with experts from Member States, to facilitate the sharing of learning and best practice in food waste prevention. In particular, the working group was set up to help the Commission and Member States to remove, wherever possible, any regulatory barriers or grey zones, existing either at EU or national level, which lead to food waste whilst ensuring safety of food and feed, as well as protection of animal health.
While this expert group may discuss and recommend policy options, it is the relevant working groups of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (or other regulatory committees) which would consider these issues further, in their respective areas of competence.
Following the establishment of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste in 2016, Member States have been invited to participate in this multi-stakeholder forum in order to facilitate the exchange of experience and best practices and to accelerate the EU's progress towards the SDG Target 12.3. The Member States expert group still supports the Commission in preparation of legislation and policy initiatives that concern EU Member States.
Meetings
30 April 2024
7 March 2023
15 October 2018
- Agenda
- Presentation - Delegated act on food waste measurement – 4th draft
- Presentation - Format to report amounts of food waste including quality check report – 1st draft
9 July 2018
- Agenda
- Summary report
- Delegated act on food waste measurement – discussion on 3rd draft and comments received
- Format to report amounts of food waste – concept
4 June 2018
- Agenda
- Summary report
- Monitoring of food waste development and current draft of the delegated act
- Detailed analysis and its recommended methods
16 March 2018
- Agenda
- Summary report
- Delegation for the Commission to establish a common methodology to measure food waste – legal provisions and planning of work
- Main elements of the delegated act
- Summary of preparatory work within EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste
22 June 2016
- Agenda
- Summary report
- Food waste prevention in Circular Economy Action Plan
- Proposal to amend Directive 2008/98/EC
- FUSIONS experiences in food waste quantification and recommendations for the future
- Food Waste statistics
- Food losses monitoring in Flanders
- Planned approach to elaboration of methodology to monitor food waste
24 April 2015
- Agenda
- Summary report
- Spain - National food waste prevention programme
- FUSIONS FP7 research project: food waste measurement
- Norway - measuring food waste at national level (2009-2015) – project ForMat
- Netherlands - Date Marking and Food Waste
- Nordic Council of Ministers - Research on Date marking and Food waste
- Nordic Council of Ministers - food redistribution project
- Netherlands - Position paper regarding food waste reduction
- Eurostat - Project on food waste statistics
- Flanders - Food supply chain Roadmap 2020
7 November 2014
Following the Communication on Circular Economy (2015), the EU Platform on food Losses and Food Waste was established in 2016, bringing together EU institutions, experts from the EU countries, international organisations and relevant stakeholders selected through an open call for applications. You can find information on the Platform (Terms of references, members, meetings, sub-groups) in the dedicated webpage.
Prior to the creation of the Platform, co-operation between the Commission and stakeholders was carried out through a Working Group on Food Losses and Food Waste. The group was established in 2012 under the Advisory Group on the Food Chain, Animal & Plant Health to support the Commission in sharing of best practices in food waste prevention and in identifying possible EU actions.
Documents from the Expert Group's meetings:
28 October 2014
8 May 2014
8 February 2013
5 October 2012
EU Food Waste Action Grants
Since 2022, the Commission has awarded over €11.5 million in action grants under the Single Market Programme, to help Member States and stakeholders improve food waste measurement and implement Food Waste prevention actions, in collaboration with the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). This includes three sets of grants, the first aimed at national competent authorities, the second towards private and public stakeholders, and the third is an action grant to support the activities of the European Food Banks Federation.
EU funding for research on food losses and food waste
Through the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programme, the Commission funded 12 projects aimed at the research and development of innovative solutions to tackle food waste across the EU and beyond. For example, €55 million was allocated to food waste projects under the topic “Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption” (2021-2024). These funded projects focusing on harmonised measurement and monitoring methods, projects exploring market solutions to prevent food waste related to marketing standards, projects that look at the link between food waste and the climate, and more.
Related links
- EU Green Deal
- EU Farm to Fork Strategy
- Key recommendations for action of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste
- Frequently Asked Questions: Reducing food waste in the EU
- How to reduce food waste in your daily life
- European Consumer Food Waste Forum
- European Citizens’ Food Waste Panel
- Revised Waste Framework Directive, 2018