Prevention

Food waste has an enormous economic, social and environmental impact. Nearly 59 million tonnes of food waste (equal to 131 kg per inhabitant) are produced in the EU every year, causing an estimated loss of around €132 billion.

Moreover, food waste has a huge negative environmental impact, as it is responsible for generating 252 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2), or about 16% of the greenhouse gas emissions of the EU food system. As is often noted, if food waste were an EU Member State, it would be the fifth largest emitter contributing to the “Greenhouse Effect”.

Finally, food waste also accounts for part of the heavy strain on natural resources. Indicatively, 342 billion cubic metres of water are consumed to produce food that will ultimately end up as waste.

Food waste is discarded food and its associated inedible parts [e.g. bones, fruit stones (pits), etc.]. Food waste occurs at every stage of the food supply chain — from farm to fork. However, the largest share is generated at consumption.

According to official Eurostat data, 53% of the food waste produced in the EU comes from households, 7% from wholesale and retail and 9% from restaurants and other food services. Other sectors contributing to food waste in the EU are primary production (11%) and food processing and manufacturing (20%).

The EU is committed to achieving Target 12.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aims to halve per-capita food waste at consumer and retail level by 2030, and to reduce food losses along the supply chain and in food production.

To accelerate progress towards Target 12.3 in the EU, the European Commission proposes that Member States reduce food waste by 10% in food manufacturing and processing, and by 30% (per capita) jointly in retail and consumption (households, restaurants and food services) by 2030. The results of the first EU-wide monitoring of food waste levels, carried out in 2020, will serve as the baseline for assessing progress. By the end of 2027 there will be an official review of the progress made by Member States, with the possibility of course correction if the data show that the EU can achieve even better results.

EU waste legislation already requires Member States to implement national food waste prevention programmes and, above all, to reduce food waste at every stage of the supply chain, to monitor progress and to draw up reports on food waste levels. Unfortunately, no significant progress has been achieved so far in reducing food waste.

Often, with minimal effort from each of us, food waste can be reduced, thus helping protect the environment and even saving money. There are many useful tips that all of us can easily follow to reduce the food waste we produce.

See what you can do at home and while shopping →