Brussels, 11/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 12 July, the European Parliament (EP) agriculture committee will discuss the issue of food wastage and strategies for improving the food chain in the EU. Salvatore Caronna (S&D, Italy) will present his draft report which, inter alia, will call on the European Commission to prepare initiatives to reduce the amount of food wasted by half by 2025 and, at the same time, avoid production of food waste.
Every day a considerable amount of perfectly edible food is discarded, with disturbing consequences from the food, environmental, social and economic points of view. The draft report calls on the Commission, therefore, to investigate the causes and the effects of the disposal, wastage and landfilling of roughly half of the food produced in Europe and to include a detailed analysis of the economic, environmental, nutritional and social effects. Caronna stresses the need for a coordinated strategy, followed by practical action at European level in order to improve the efficiency of the food supply chain.
Agriculture can play a fundamental and pioneering role in tackling food waste, the draft report argues. It urges the Commission to include ambitious measures to this effect in its next legislative proposals on agriculture, trade and distribution of foodstuffs.
The Commission and member states are called on to promote awareness-raising campaigns, to inform the public of the causes and effects of food waste. The draft report calls for the introduction of food education courses particularly in secondary schools and colleges, in order to encourage better behaviour and habits.
The draft report calls on the Commission to consider possible amendments to public procurement rules for catering services so that priority can be given, when contracts are being awarded, to companies which: - guarantee that they will redistribute unsold items free of charge to groups of citizens who lack purchasing power; - promote specific action to reduce food waste upstream. The rapporteur also calls for measures to reduce food waste upstream, such as dual-date labelling (“sell by” and “use by”) and discounted sales of out-of-date or damaged goods. (L.C./transl.rt)