European framework for the prevention of food waste

We are very pleased that in addition to the strong involvement of civil society, initiatives are being taken to formulate policies to tackle food waste at European and global institutional levels.

Of particular note is the new legislative framework recently adopted by the European Parliament on Circular Economy. In particular, a review of the waste directive provides for objectives and specific obligations for the Member States.

In summary, EU Member States are called upon to:

-Adopt specific food waste programs within the framework of their waste prevention programs.

-Take measures to reduce the generation of food waste, as a contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to reduce by 50 % the per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains by 2030.

- Encourage food donation and other redistribution for human consumption, prioritising human use over animal feed and the reprocessing into non-food products. To this end, they shall make use of economic tools and incentives to facilitate food donation.

-Monitor and assess the implementation of their food waste prevention measures by measuring the levels of their food waste prevention measures on the basis of a uniform methodology and minimum quality requirements to be established by the European Commission.

By 31 December 2023, the European Commission, after assessing the data on food waste provided by the Member States, will consider the feasibility of establishing an EU-wide food waste reduction target to be achieved by 2030.

Boroume’s team continues with enthusiasm and persistence its daily effort to reduce food waste in Greece and increase food support to charitable bodies throughout Greece. Of course, it will also make a decisive contribution to achieving the objectives set at European level.