EU Food Loss and Waste Prevention Hub

About one third of all food produced globally is wasted. Because food waste has a detrimental impact on the economy, climate and society, the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 aims to halve food waste and food losses in 2030. A large part of food loss and waste is generated by consumers. Earlier  research has identified date marking as one of the key drivers for household food waste, accounting  for approximately 10% of household food waste. In particular, uncertainty or confusion about the two date marking types (use-by and best-before) that are obligated under current EC legislation, could contribute to unnecessary food waste at home. It would therefore be relevant to develop effective strategies that will improve consumers’ understanding of the two expiry dates, in order to prevent food waste due to misinterpretation. Additional information on food product packages, in the form of visual cues, may be a promising strategy to help consumers. However, little is known about its  effectiveness. This research aims to contribute to a better understanding of how consumers interpret date-related information, such as visual cues in addition to use-by and best-before date marking, and how this influences their behaviour on either using or discarding food. The results of this project need to be understood against the backdrop of developments within the European policy domain. The issue of date marking is one of the focus areas in the European Farm to Fork Strategy (2020) to achieve the SDG12.3 aim. The European Platform on Food Loss and Food Waste as multi-stakeholder platform consisting of representatives of all EU Member States and a selection of other stakeholders from business, science and society has investigated the role of date marking (2018), and is currently working on new legislation in the area of Food Information by the end of 2022.