The Commission adopted the EU 2020 Resource Efficiency Flagship presenting a strategic framework for a more sustainable and efficient use of natural resources. The Flagship defines food as an important natural resource.

The Commission is focusing its efforts to improve the environmental sustainability of the food chain on food waste minimisation and food packaging optimisation.

The "Preparatory study on food waste across EU 27" estimates that about 89 million tonnes of food is wasted per year or 179 kg per capita per year, and that food is wasted at all the levels of the food chain.

• Households are responsible for 42% of the total (76 kg/capita/year) of which 60 % is avoidable; it is caused mainly by lack of awareness, lack of knowledge on efficient food use, attitudes (cultural, undervaluing), lack of shopping planning, packaging issues, etc.;
• The food manufacturing sector is responsible for 39% of the total; it is caused mainly by technical malfunctions such as overproduction, misshapen products, product and packaging damage;
• The food retail/wholesale sector is responsible for 5% of the total; caused by supply chain inefficiencies, stock mis-management, marketing strategies, temperature sensitivities, etc.;
• The food service/catering sector is responsible for 14% of the total; caused mainly by the one-portion size approach, overstocking, attitudes, preferences.
• Agricultural food waste and fish discards are not included in this study.

Actions to minimise food waste should therefore involve all the actors of the food chain and should target the various sector-specific causes.

The Commission has started to analyse with all relevant stakeholders via existing platforms how to minimise food waste and optimise food packaging without compromising food safety.

• EU Retail Forum for Sustainability - exchanges best practices on sustainability and identifies opportunities and barriers for the achievement of sustainable consumption and production.
• European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production Round table - aims to establish an agreed methodology to assess the environmental impact of food and drink products along the whole food chain and to identify the most suitable tools to provide information on such impacts to consumers.
  It is co-chaired by the Commission and food supply chain partners, supported by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Environment Agency, and consists of organizations representing the European food supply chain, consumer organizations and environmental NGOs.
• Informal EU Member States network - a number of European Union countries together with the Commission started to exchange information and experiences on activities related to food waste reduction and food packaging optimisation. The focus is on research, awareness-raising and on encouraging recycling.
• High-level Forum for Better Functioning Food Supply Chain - set up by the Commission, it includes EU countries representatives, companies, professional associations and NGOs dealing with food production, processing or distribution.
  The Forum assists the Commission with the development of industrial policy in the agro-food sector; its mandate ends on 31 December 2012.

Relevant studies and information sources:

EU funded study Preparatory study on food waste across EU 27 , BIO IS, October 2010

FAO study Global food losses and food waste , May 2011

Taste the waste documentary by Valentin Thurn, 2011

Europe 2020 Strategy

Flagship initiative for a resource - efficient Europe