Consumer food waste prevention sub-group

Reducing food waste is one of the objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy, which will also contribute to achieving a circular economy and will bring savings to consumers and operators.

As households generate more than half of the total food waste in the EU (53% or over 31 million tonnes) with 69% of food waste arising at household, food service and retail (Eurostat, 2022) and given global developments in this area of work, prevention of consumer food waste is a key area of focus.

At the inaugural meeting of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste under its second mandate (2022-2026), it was agreed that a sub-group dedicated to consumer food waste prevention would be established in order to support EU and Platform members’ work in this field.

The sub-group provides a forum to exchange information on interventions carried out to modify consumer behavior concerning food waste generation and/or raise consumer awareness about the issue and results achieved.

The sub-group is closely involved in the on-going EU pilot project, financed by the European Parliament, and carried out by DG SANTE in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre, the European Consumer Food Waste Forum, which aims to gather data and identify a variety of evidence-based, practical solutions to reduce food waste at the consumer level, including household and food services.

Tools, best practices and recommendations to reduce consumer food waste - A compendium

Executive summary – all EU languages

• Reducing consumer food waste: Recommendations for policymakers
• Reducing consumer food waste: Recommendations for food businesses and other organisations
• Reducing consumer food waste: Recommendations for schools

More information about the background and tasks of this sub-group can be found in its Terms of reference:

Terms of Reference: Consumer food waste prevention sub-group

See the full list of the subgroup members (under the section "Members")

5 June - Let's reduce consumer food waste! Solutions from the European Consumer Food Waste Forum, 

The event gathered food waste prevention experts and actors across the food supply chain to discuss solutions to prevent food waste at consumer level, both in- and out-of-home. 

The event marked the launch of the Toolkit to Reduce Consumer Food Waste, a digital resource developed by the European Commission, based on the work of the European Consumer Food Waste Forum project. This comprehensive toolkit includes:

• Video tutorials: Practical guides for designing, implementing, and evaluating food waste reduction actions (available in 7 languages).
• Food waste action planner: Successful actions to serve as an inspiration.
• Food waste prevention calculator: A tool for calculating and communicating the environmental, economic, and nutritional impacts of waste reduction actions.
• Recommendations for action: Tailored advice for policymakers, businesses, schools, and other organisations (available in all EU languages).

You can find the recording of the event, presentations and summary report of the discussions the event's webpage.

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