Food waste has a huge economic, social and environmental impact. Over 58 milllion tonnes of food waste (131 kg/inhabitant) are generated in the EU each year. This represents an estimated loss of €132 billion.
Around 10% of all food supplied to retail, restaurants, food services (e.g., school and corporate canteens, hospitals, etc.) and households is wasted. At the same time, over 37 million people cannot afford a quality meal (including meat, chicken, fish or vegetarian equivalent) every second day.
Food waste has a huge environmental impact, accounting for 254 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents or about 16% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from the EU food system. If food waste were a Member State, it would be the fifth largest emitter of GHG emissions. Wasting food also puts unnecessary burden on limited natural resources, such as land and water use.
Food waste is discarded food and its associated inedible parts (such as bones or fruit cores). Food waste occurs at all stages of the food supply chain, from farm to fork. However, the largest share is generated at consumption, which is a key area of focus for food waste prevention programmes.
Following the first EU-wide monitoring of food waste according to a common EU methodology, Eurostat estimated that 54% of food waste generated in the EU arises in households, 7% at wholesale and retail, and 9% in restaurants and food services. Other sectors contributing to food waste in the EU are primary production (9%) and food processing and manufacturing (21%).
The EU is committed to achieving the global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 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.
To accelerate the EU’s progress towards this goal, the Commission proposes that, by 2030, Member States reduce food waste by 10%, in processing and manufacturing, and by 30% (per capita), jointly at retail and consumption (restaurants, food services and households).
The results of the first EU-wide monitoring of food waste levels carried out in 2020 will serve as a baseline to assess progress. An earlier reference year may be considered for Member States which provide evidence of action taken before 2020, with monitoring confirming the progress made.
By the end of 2027, there will be a formal review of progress made by Member States, and the possibility to correct course if evidence suggests that the EU can contribute even more towards the global ambition.
Reducing food waste will reduce the resources needed to produce the food we eat. Tackling food waste is a triple win: it saves food for human consumption; it lowers the environmental impact of food production and consumption; and it helps businesses and consumers to save money. A 4-person household would save on average about €400 per year if food waste is reduced in line with our proposal.
EU waste legislation already requires Member States to implement national food waste prevention programmes and, importantly, to reduce food waste at each stage of the supply chain, monitor and report on food waste levels. However, so far, the amount of food waste is not decreasing enough.
By its proposal, the Commission aims to ensure sufficient and consistent response by all Member States to reduce food waste along the food supply chain and in households. It should provide impetus for Member States to take ambitious actions and to support behavioural change as well as strengthen collaboration between actors across the whole food value chain and other relevant players (e.g., academia, NGOs, financial institutions, etc).
International organisations and coalitions call on governments to follow the ‘Target-Measure-Act’ evidence-based approach to achieve rapid and concrete results regarding food waste prevention. The experience of front-runner countries as well as EU supporting measures in place to facilitate sharing of learning and best practice will help drive progress across Member States. Such countries, for example the Netherlands, France and Germany, have established national food waste prevention strategies and established governance mechanisms bringing together all players, guiding and coordinating efforts, for instance through voluntary agreements, towards clear and shared food waste reduction objectives. Reduction of food waste at the consumer level requires ongoing consumer campaigns and behavioural change interventions as well as the integration of food waste prevention in school curricula. Many Member States facilitate food donation, including through legislative measures and fiscal incentives, to help ensure redistribution of surplus food to those in need.
Recommendations of the citizens panel, organised by the Commission to address food waste prevention and to provide a citizens’ perspective, can also serve as a guide to help Member States achieve the targets.
Since 2015, the EU has set out a dedicated action plan to reduce food waste across the EU.
The EU’s first Circular Economy Action Plan, adopted in 2015, called on the Commission to establish a multi-stakeholder platform dedicated to food waste prevention. Established in 2016, the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste (FLW) has supported the Commission in its work to adopt EU guidelines to facilitate food donationand the feed use of food no longer intended forconsumption, and develop a food waste measurement methodology. It also supports all actors in taking action to facilitate understanding and use of date marking.
Sharingbest practice, resources and learning from food waste prevention to accelerate progress in Member States is facilitated through the EU Platform on FLW and the digital EU Food Loss and Waste Prevention Hub, which includes a section dedicated to Member States’ initiatives to reduce food losses and food waste.
As over half of food waste is generated at consumption, the Commission also seeks to support all players in taking action to support consumer behavioural change. A best practice compendium, elaborated by the European Consumer Food Waste Forum brings together tools, solutions and recommendations to effectively address consumer food waste.
EU research and innovation also provides opportunities to investigate and address food loss and waste, with research projects currently ongoing under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. Other funding instruments for food waste prevention actions include the LIFE environmental programme and Interreg Europe, which integrates food waste prevention as part of regional cooperation.
The Commission is also awarding grants, under the Single Market Programme, to help Member States and stakeholders improve food waste measurement and prevention initiatives, in collaboration with the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA).
To help guide effective action, the Commission is working to strengthen the evidence base for food waste prevention interventions, through their ongoing assessment by means of the evaluation framework developed by the Joint Research Centre and its continued development.
Citizens have clearly voiced their concern and support the need to step up action to reduce food waste in the EU - views that are reflected in the recommendations of the Citizens’ Panel, convened by the Commission between 16 December 2022 and 12 February 2023.
Everyone can play a role in reducing food waste. Often with minimal effort, food waste can be reduced, which also leads to saving money and helping to protect the environment. For instance, planning meals or using leftovers for lunch next day can be helpful, or when buying food for immediate consumption, picking products that are closest to the expiration date. The Commission has prepared some quick tips for people who wish to limit food waste in their daily lives.
Measurement of food waste is essential to provide evidence on which to build effective strategies for food waste prevention.
As foreseen in the EU waste legislation, as revised in May 2018, specific measures on food waste prevention have been introduced which will provide consistent data on food waste levels. Based on the data collected in 2020, the Commission has defined a baseline for EU food waste levels against which it has proposed to set legally binding targets for food waste reduction, to be achieved by Member States by 2030.
The Commission adopted on 3 May 2019 a common EU methodology to measure food waste in order to support Member States in quantifying food waste at each stage of the food supply chain. Based on a common definition for food waste, the methodology will ensure coherent monitoring and reporting of food waste levels across the EU.
The format for reporting of these data as well as the content of a quality check report for data submitted by Member States, was adopted on 28 November 2019. Member States started collecting data on food waste as of 2020 and reported on national food waste levels for the first time in 2022.
The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste is a unique forum that brings together all key actors representing both public and private interests - from farm to fork - in order to catalyse the EU’s progress towards the SDG 12.3 Target.
Members include international organisations (Food and Agriculture Organisation, UN Environment Programme, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), EU institutions, Member States’ experts and stakeholders from the food supply chain including food banks and other NGOs.
The Platform aims to support all actors in defining measures needed to prevent food waste (including recommendations for EU-level action); sharing best practices and evaluating progress made over time.
Tackling food waste requires rethinking how we produce, market, distribute and consume food. The Recommendations for action in food waste prevention, adopted by the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste in December 2019, can make an important contribution to this redesign of our food systems. The Platform’s monthly newsletter offers an overview of food loss and waste prevention initiatives taken by the members, and is open for subscription to all interested stakeholders.
European Food Loss and Waste Prevention Hub - Explore the Member States Initiatives (europa.eu)
Facilitation of food donation is a priority area of work in the EU’s action plan to prevent food waste. Food waste prevention aims to avoid the generation of surplus food in the food supply chain. However, when this occurs and the food is safe and fit for human consumption, the preferred destination is to make it available to people in need.
In 2017, the Commission adopted EU guidelines that clarify relevant measures laid down in EU rules (e.g. food safety, labelling, VAT etc.) in order to help lift any existing barriers to food redistribution within the current EU regulatory framework.
In the context of an EU pilot project on food redistribution (2018-2020), the Commission has mapped and analysed policy and regulatory frameworks relevant for food redistribution in the Member States.
The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste adopted in May 2019 a document which collects examples of food redistribution practices in Member States and illustrates how EU rules to facilitate food donation are implemented in practice.
In 2021, the Commission introduced amendments to EU food hygiene rules in order to lay down certain requirements to promote and facilitate food donation, whilst guaranteeing its safety for consumers.
Yes. Where it is safe to do so, this practice can also help prevent food waste. In 2018, the Commission adopted EU guidelines to help valorise, as animal feed, food no longer marketable for human consumption (e.g. unsold bread, broken biscuits).
The guidelines clarify how relevant EU rules related to food, feed and waste apply in order to facilitate the use of such food resources whilst ensuring safety of the feed chain, animal and human health.
A Commission study published in 2018 estimated that 10% of food waste in the EU supply chain is linked to date marking (i.e. “use by” and “best before” dates indicated on food labelling). Findings also revealed a wide variation in date marking practices in the EU.
The Commission is currently considering the most efficient ways of facilitating understanding and use of date marking. The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste and its dedicated sub-group on date marking provides a forum for sharing – on an ongoing basis – experience, learning and best practice in relation to date marking and food waste prevention. The European Consumer Food Waste Forum’s best practice compendium has also assessed the effectiveness of several interventions aiming to help consumers make better use of date marking.
Greater coherence in the use of date marking can help optimise supply chain management and facilitate consumer understanding of the meaning of these dates.
In order to support the consistency of date marking practices, the Commission asked the European Food Safety Authority to provide scientific advice and develop a risk-based approach to support food business operators’ in their decision-making regarding date marking and related food information. The first opinion, adopted in October 2020, relates to factors that should guide food business operators in deciding between ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates and setting of shelf-life. The second opinion, adopted in March 2021, focuses on other food information aspects, such as storage conditions, time limits for consumption after opening and thawing practices.