FAO to support EU on tackling Food Losses and Waste

The 10th meeting of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste (EU PFLW)  discussed, among other things, ongoing work on the code of conduct for Responsible Business and Marketing under the EU Farm to Fork Strategy. The meeting was opened by EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, and chaired by Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) Director of Food Sustainability and International Relations, Nathalie Chaze.

Commissioner Kyriakides highlighted the importance of tackling food loss and waste: “It is crucial in order to achieve a sustainable food system and Member States and businesses should make such actions an integral part of their recovery plans.” She stressed that reducing food loss and waste will be a key focus of the upcoming UN Food System Summit, and the EU will work with international partners to define results-oriented actions for stakeholders worldwide.

FAO Deputy Director of Food Systems and Food Safety, Divine Njie, presented the development of the FAO Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction. He underscored that the Code of Conduct would serve as a framework to guide all relevant stakeholders to achieve reductions across all sectors. 

Within the context of the Farm to Fork discussions, FAO is participating in drafting the EU Code of Conduct for responsible business and marketing practices based on the OECD-FAO guidance for responsible agricultural supply chains.

FAO has also contributed to the EU PFLW guidelines and discussions on various topics, including food donations, feed use, and food loss measurement. 

To increase public awareness from an early age, FAO has developed school packages that have been translated into various languages, including Portuguese. Additional information is available here.

Please visit the FAO Technical Platform on the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste to learn more about FAO’s work on food losses and waste.