Dear Colleagues,
The paradox of the contemporary world is that, more than 820 million people do not have enough to eat and 1,3 billion tonnes of edible food per year, i.e. 1/3 of produced food is wasted. Food losses and waste are so high that they should be treated as a global problem prevalent throughout the agri-food chain, i.e. “from farm to table”, in both developed and developing countries. All participants in the agri-food chain are responsible for food losses and waste: producers, processors, suppliers, traders, sellers, restaurateurs and consumers. Therefore, everyone must also take action to prevent food waste and waste on both the supply and demand side, as well as to reduce it.
Therefore, development of a Code of Conduct on Food Loss and Food Waste Prevention is a great idea. The proposed structure of CoC is quite appropriate. Below I added a few suggestions to consideration.
All actions to reduce food losses and waste should be undertaken, including:
- Support for initiatives of cooperation between different stakeholders: food producers, retail chains, government representatives, NGOs, international organisations and scientific research institutes. The combination of knowledge and skills can contribute to a significant reduction in food losses and waste.
- Modification of requirements for food quality standards in terms of the size, shape and colour of fruit and vegetables to enable the sale of less aesthetic products. Food products, which are rejected by retail chains due to non-compliance with quality standards, should be sold at lower prices or forwarded through the Food Banks to those in need.
- The European Union should support actions to redistribute food to people in a difficult financial situation, and to support the provision of milk and milk products to pupils, and actions as part a programme promoting the consumption of fruit and vegetables in schools.
- Information campaigns in many countries to raise public awareness of food waste consequences. In Poland, the Federation of Polish Food Banks runs numerous information campaigns for both food producers and consumers. Established to prevent food waste and to reduce malnutrition areas, the Federation of Polish Food Banks brings together 32 Food Banks that operate throughout the country.
- Development of financial incentives for entrepreneurs that pursue policy to reduce food waste.
- Allowing for taking an uneaten meal home from a restaurant.
- Use of edible by-products as e.g. pet food.
- Introduction of educational programmes on nutrition at all levels of the education system to explain how to store and prepare food, and how to dispose of leftovers.
- It is necessary to educate consumers about food packaging information on the expiration date of food: (1) ‘use by’ for perishable food products and (2) ‘best before’ relating to the minimum durability of food products which are safe for the health of consumers. Consumers often do not distinguish between these terms and discard food with ‘best before’ information on its packaging. The ‘use by’ date refers to food security and the ‘best before’ date – to food quality.
- Interdisciplinary actions should be undertaken with respect to food production, food quality and security, nutrition rationalisation, health promotion and raising consumers’ awareness of nutrition and health.
- Implementation of food redistribution programmes that allow for reducing prices of food products with a close ‘use by’ date. It would prevent massive discarding of food and, at the same time, would enable low-income people to buy food.
- Developing a uniform methodological framework that would provide reliable estimates of food loss and waste, which would allow for more accurate tracking and detection of links in the agri-food chain where food loss and food waste arise. This would allow the introduction of appropriate strategies targeted at specific recipients that would be aimed at preventing and reducing food loss and waste.
- Constant monitoring of food losses and waste throughout the agri-food chain.
These actions will bring numerous economic, social, health and environmental benefits to not only the present world population, but also to future generations.
In Poland, the Act of July 19, 2019 on Counteracting Food Waste was adopted. This Act stipulates that stores over 250 sq. m., whose half of the revenues come from the sale of food, will have to conclude agreements with non-governmental organizations for the free transfer of unsold food. It is primarily about products that have been discontinued due to defects in their appearance or packaging.
The law provides for symbolic fees – for 1 kilo of wasted food, the seller will pay 0,10 PLN. These funds are to support non-governmental organizations in further food distribution, including support the development of infrastructure necessary to provide food to those in need. Stores will also be required to run, together with non-governmental organizations, at least once a year, educational and information campaigns in the field of rational food management and prevention of food waste.
Best regards
Mariola Kwasek, PhD, Hab. Associate Professr
Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics
National Research Institute
Warsaw
Mariola Kwasek