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At its 26th Session in October 2018, the FAO Committee on Agriculture (COAG) requested FAO to take the lead to develop voluntary codes of conduct for the reduction of food loss and food waste. In response to the COAG request, FAO developed the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction, which was endorsed by the 42nd Session of the FAO Conference in June 2021.

The Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction sets out a generic framework of actions and guiding principles that should be followed to reduce food loss and waste (FLW) and support the transformation of agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable. Governments can use the framework as a basis for the development of strategies, policies and legislations, which are critical elements of intervention packages aimed at effectively and sustainably reducing FLW. The framework can also serve for the formulation of programmes on FLW reduction and for the preparation of technical guidelines for use by practitioners.