SAFE welcomes mandatory food waste reduction targets
Safe Food Advocacy Europe, also known as SAFE, welcomes the European Parliament’s adoption of the Waste Framework Directive. This directive will introduce the EU’s first binding targets for food waste reduction. These targets will apply nationally and must be met by December 31, 2030.
Floriana Cimmarusti, secretary general of SAFE, says: “Food Loss and Waste (FLW) is a massive obstacle to sustainability and the fight against climate change. We welcome the introduction of these binding targets in Europe, and we encourage European institutions to extend these targets beyond 2030 and to explore additional policy actions to be taken.”
The target for every country is a 10% reduction in processing and manufacturing, compared to the amount generated as an annual average between 2021 and 2023. For distribution, restaurants, food services, and households, the target is a 30% reduction per capita.
Tackling food insecurity
Cutting EU food waste by half would feed all 37 million Europeans facing food insecurity. In 2022, around 132 kg of food waste per inhabitant was generated in the EU.
Deputy director Luigi Tozzi says: “The current food system is inefficient: economic structures lead to overproduction of food, without ensuring either a fair distribution of food or a fair redistribution of profit, globally. Overproduced raw materials from developing countries are used in food overproduction in wealthy nations. This inevitably generates food waste, depletes local resources, contributes to climate change, creates social injustice, and drives up food prices. We must change this production system in order to effectively combat food loss and waste.”
Food Loss and Waste have been core topics of SAFE’s advocacy work for the last years. Currently, SAFE participates in three EU-funded projects working on solutions for reducing food waste across the food value chain: ZeroW, Sisters, and Roseta.
Commenting on the ruling, David Gudgeon, head of external affairs at Reconomy Connect, a brand by circular economy specialists Reconomy, says: “Almost 60 million metric tons of food are wasted every year in the EU – the equivalent of 132 kg per person, so the introduction of binding reduction targets marks an important milestone. By 2030, member states must achieve a 10% cut in food waste from processing and manufacturing, and a 30% per capita reduction across retail, restaurants, food services, and households, measured against the 2021–2023 average baseline. It is encouraging that this baseline captures a broad, post-COVID data range, ensuring the targets reflect normal trading conditions.
“Meeting these ambitious targets will be demanding, but they signal a decisive shift away from a throwaway culture and the needless loss of resource-intensive food production. Reducing waste across the entire food value chain offers significant climate benefits, conserving land, water, energy, and carbon otherwise lost through inefficiency.”
“Driving circularity in our food systems means rethinking the full lifecycle of production and consumption. This ruling sends a clear signal that Europe is ready to move beyond wasteful practices, opening opportunities for collaboration between producers, retailers, charities, and innovators to design a more resilient, resource-efficient food system,” he explains.
While the UK currently has no mandatory food waste targets, this national strategy is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 and relies on voluntary initiatives such as the Courtauld Commitment 2030.
“Businesses can get ahead by embracing circular methods such as improved waste tracking, process redesign, and investment in circular infrastructure. This will support compliance in the EU, unlock cost savings and efficiency gains, and keep businesses agile to any similar regulatory changes in the UK,” Gudgeon notes.
Food wase reduction themes are shaping today’s F&B industry. Cutting down on food waste isn’t just for the sustainability-minded anymore, as buyers seek more value from their purchases. Environmental and cost consciousness are prompting a strong interest among consumers in food waste reduction.
F&B companies are responding with a bevy of strategies, including preservation techniques, upcycling, ethical sourcing, and AI-based solutions to minimize food waste and loss in supply chains.
