FoodDrinkEurope Welcomes EU Parliament Report

FoodDrinkEurope members welcome the acknowledgement of the role that packaging can play in preventing food waste and the need for clarification on date labels to help raise consumer awareness and knowledge as most of the food waste is generated at household level.

Jan 24 2012 --- FoodDrinkEurope welcomes the adoption of the European Parliament’s report on “How to avoid food wastage: Strategies for a more efficient food chain in the EU”

Finding solutions to food wastage is a key priority for the food and drink industry because the resources and sustainability measures put into the production of food, such as the raw materials, water and fuels, are also wasted when food is wasted.

FoodDrinkEurope welcomes the report’s recognition of manufacturers’ efforts to minimise waste. Practices have been put in place to avoid waste and optimise use of raw materials, for example, by recovering parts that do not go into the finished food product, such as by-products like coffee grounds to produce renewable energy or beet pulp to provide sound animal feed. FoodDrinkEurope is pleased to see the call for a harmonised implementation of the definition of by-products across Member States. This would provide certainty to manufacturers and facilitate future investment.

FoodDrinkEurope members welcome the acknowledgement of the role that packaging can play in preventing food waste and the need for clarification on date labels to help raise consumer awareness and knowledge as most of the food waste is generated at household level.

However, in order to compare data and design harmonised food waste policy measures across EU Member States, food and drink companies believe that the need to improve the consistency of reporting on the figures and waste categories used by Member States could have been highlighted.

Food manufacturers will continue to work with stakeholders including in the European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production Round Table (SCP RT) and the High Level Forum (1) to achieve industry’s overall aim of avoiding food waste along the food chain. FoodDrinkEurope now looks forward to working with all stakeholders to tackle this key issue which is essential for the sustainability of its members’ activities while natural resources such as water get increasingly scarce worldwide.