These recommendations focus on three key impact areas, including consumer behaviour, integrated supply chain policies (including Voluntary Agreements and Unfair Trading Practices) and valorisation. To tackle food loss and waste, there is a pressing need for more integrated policies to achieve sustainable food systems in the circular economy. REFRESH presents the building blocks for a roadmap towards an integrated food waste policy for the EU, structured by the ‘target-measure-act’ principle.

Due to the complexity of the food system, there are many policies that (in)directly affect the generation and prevention of food loss and waste across the supply chain. To achieve maximum impact on preventing and reducing global food waste levels, policy makers and other stakeholders will need to work together to create an integrated policy framework for sustainable food systems. REFRESH findings build the evidence based within three key impact areas, consumer behaviour, integrated value chains and valorisation.

The objective of these recommendations is to facilitate the creation of an enabling policy environment for the reduction, reuse and valorisation of food loss and waste within the context of a sustainable food system. The recommendations aim to contribute to improved policy design and implementation in the EU and its Member States, assisting policy makers in further shaping food waste and related policies. The report brings together the evaluation of current policy and the recommendations for improvement in a coherent set of recommendations within a systemic perspective.