Reducing food waste in the EU

In the EU, nearly 59 million tonnes of food (131 kg/inhabitant) are wasted annually - 53% of which at the consumer level.

Besides its negative environmental (incl. climate) impact, food waste is unacceptable from an ethical perspective and has financial consequences for consumers - even more so in times of high food price inflation.

While consumers have a role to play in reducing food waste, all actors in the chain – incl. farmers, manufacturers, and retailers – must take their full responsibility to tackle food waste. The setting of binding food waste reduction targets from farm to fork can contribute towards this goal.