The European Commission has established a Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, bringing together Member State experts, EU & international bodies and all actors across the food value chain including NGOs. The Platform will give support to define the measures needed to achieve SDG 12.3 by facilitating inter-sector co-operation, sharing best practices and results, and evaluating progress made over time.
The Platform, which first gathered on 29 November 2016, will be the key forum at EU level to help all players identify and implement food waste prevention solutions to achieve the related Sustainable Development Goals. Importantly, the Platform will promote inter-sector cooperation and sharing of best practice and results. The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste aims to support all actors in rethinking a food value chain where food waste is minimised and value gained from food produced is maximised, thereby facilitating our transition to a circular economy and more sustainable food systems.
With a passionate inauguration speech Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis officially launched the platform and in his speech addressed the main commitments and objectives. The five key areas for the platform will be:
- Measure food waste consistency at Member State level, building on the FUSIONS framework and manual, in line with the global FLW protocol and focussed on the resource efficiency of the whole supply chain;
- Develop a harmonised EU food donation guideline, with the ambition to be adopted end 2017;
- Support the safe use of food resources for feed, by developing food to feed guidelines, within existing legislative framework and following a proper traceability procedure;
- Examine how better use of date marking practices can help in prevention of food waste; and
- Strategic guidance and on the ground actions by the EU Platform on Food losses and Food waste members to support the paradigm shift towards a circular economy and more sustainable food systems.
Several REFRESH partners are member of the EU Platform: Wageningen University & Research, WRAP, Feedback, UNEP, and SP. REFRESH partners’ contribution will focus on i.a. improved utilization and valuing of food, sustainable food system innovations & maximizing public-private synergies. With the Framework for Action approach and developing and testing public-private collaborative models in Member States. REFRESH will specifically develop a synergetic model between the Platform Digital Platform and the REFRESH Community of Experts to effectively share best practices to prevent, reduce and utilize food waste.
At the following link, the EU Commission provides a detailed description of the platform and summary of the meeting.
Date:
01/12/2016
Date:
01/12/2016
