Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission
12.3.2021
EU waste legislation[1] requires Member States to take measures to reduce food waste at each stage of the food supply chain, to adopt specific waste prevention programmes and to monitor and assess the implementation of their food waste prevention measures by measuring annually the food waste levels, based on a methodology adopted in 2019[2]. As a key action under the Farm to Fork Strategy[3], t he Commission will put forward proposals to:
— Revise EU rules on date marking (‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates) to avoid food waste linked to misunderstanding of the meaning of these dates (2022);
— Adopt binding EU-level targets for food waste reduction (2023).
The Commission has supported research and innovation projects aimed at food loss and waste prevention from primary production to consumers under Horizon 2020[4] [5] [6]. This will continue under the new Programme Horizon Europe.
While consumer education is a matter of national competence, the Commission facilitates sharing of experience/best practice in food waste prevention, notably through the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste[7].
This includes an assessment of the effectiveness of prevention actions[8], sharing of educational materials[9]. Relevant EU funding programmes also support implementation of awareness raising campaigns and educational programmes.
The EU works with partner governments and the private sector to reduce food losses in developing countries, for instance by improving crop protection and storage facilities.
- [1] Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste ( OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 109).
- [2] Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2019/1597 of 3 May 2019 supplementing Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards a common methodology and minimum quality requirements for the uniform measurement of levels of food waste ( OJ L 248, 27.9.2019, p. 77).
- [3] https://ec.europa.eu/food/farm2fork_en
- [4] REFRESH — https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/641933
- [5] FOODRUS — https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000617
- [6] LOWINFOOD — https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101000439
- [7] https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_waste/eu_actions/eu-platform_en
- [8] Assessment of food waste prevention actions (JRC Technical Report, 2019) https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/safety/docs/fs_eu-actions_eu-platform_jrc-assess-fw.pdf
- [9] https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_waste_en