What did you take away from this first European Citizens' Panel, focusing on food waste reduction?

It was inspiring to see the engagement of EU citizens throughout this process, and their eagerness to contribute to EU policy making. At the closing session, citizens called for a bigger voice in policy making related to food systems, not only at EU level but also through the creation of local and national citizens’ engagement platforms.

Citizens took a broad, systemic approach in addressing the issue of food waste, calling for a fair, equitable food supply chain that ensures solidarity.

Their 23 recommendations cover three main areas: 1) cooperation in the food value chain: from farm to fork; 2) food business initiatives and 3) supporting consumer behavioural change.

And they left no stone unturned in their deliberations. In the first weekend alone, a Knowledge Committee – composed of experts on food sustainability, food waste prevention, consumer behaviour, and policy makers including Commission officials – received over 80 questions raised by citizens to help inform their work.

Is food waste still a hot issue? Are we making progress in reducing it?

Food waste is a societal issue that is still very much with us, with almost 57 million tonnes of food waste generated in the EU in 2020 (or 127kg per person), with an estimated value of €130 billion.

In the EU, we have been taking action to prevent food waste since the adoption of the first Circular Economy Action Plan in 2015, aiming to mobilise all players, and in particular Member States.

While many Member States have taken action to reduce food waste, progress made in the EU is not sufficient when we consider the ambitious Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of halving per capita global food waste by 2030. The introduction of EU-wide, legally binding food waste reduction targets, through a new legislative proposal, aims to drive Member States to take more ambitious action and accelerate the EU's progress towards the global target.

What is the Commission currently doing to reduce this all too familiar problem?

The EU and its Member States are committed to the United Nations global target. The European Commission is tackling food waste in several ways -- not only to save citizens’ money in this time of financial difficulty and facilitate redistribution of surplus food to those in need, but also to lower the environmental and climate impact of food production and consumption.

The Commission has carried out important steps to prevent food waste since 2015, which include: introducing EU-wide food waste monitoring based on a common EU methodology; establishing the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste to bring all key players together; and adopting EU guidelines to facilitate food donation and the use of food no longer intended for human consumption as animal feed.   

In 2020, we launched the Farm to Fork Strategy, which puts forward a series of actions to enable the transition to a sustainable EU food system.

Reducing food waste is an integral part of the strategy that prompts the Commission to propose legally binding targets to reduce food waste across the EU (June 2023) and a revision of EU rules on date marking (‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates) to prevent food waste linked to misunderstanding and/or misuse of these dates.

On food waste it seems like everyone has a role to play: households, food services, retailers, producers, and public authorities. Do you think this message has come across and what more can be done so that everyone pulls in the same direction? 

The numbers linked to food waste that I mention are shocking and can be depressing. However, when we consider that over half of the total food waste generated is linked to households, this means that prevention actions taken by each one of us can have big and immediate impacts. And, as consumers, we need to be supported with the right information and tools.

Here food businesses can play an important role. Globally, we see that companies are taking action to address food loss and waste at a greater rate than public authorities.

We also see, more and more, national, and local authorities engaged in fighting food waste.  At EU level, the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste brings everyone around the table to better identify, measure, understand and find solutions to deal with food waste.

Citizens’ recommendations reflect this need for further collaboration, as they address actions that should be taken across the food supply chain, including citizens themselves, with all players working together to drive food waste out of our food systems. We encourage everyone to read and reflect on these recommendations as they take action to curb food waste in their daily lives.

For more information, please visit: https://food.ec.europa.eu/safety/food-waste_en