29 November 2016
Brussels, Belgium

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has been invited to attend at the first meeting of the EU Platform
on Food losses and Food waste.

The EU and Member States are committed to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), adopted in September 2015, including a target to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030, and reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains. The most recent estimates of European food waste levels (FUSIONS, 2016) reveal that 70% of EU food waste arises in the household, food service and retail sectors, with production and processing sectors contributing the remaining 30%.

In order to support achievement of the SDG 12.3 target on food waste and maximise the contribution of all actors, the Communication on Circular Economy calls on the Commission to establish a Platform dedicated to food waste prevention. The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste (FLW) aims to support all actors in: defining measures needed to prevent food waste; sharing best practice; and evaluating progress made over time.

The Platform will bring together public entities (Member States/EFTA countries, EU bodies and international organisations) and actors in the food value chain including consumer- and other non-governmental organisations. Public entities shall be invited by the Commission to join the Platform as members. Private sector organisations were selected through an open call for applications which closed 27 May 2016.

Further resources

Agenda (PDF)