To cut the 88 million tonnes of edible food wasted annually in the EU by half by 2030, the European Parliament’s environment committee, meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 11 April, devised a recipe which it hopes will be followed.
Among the ingredients of this recipe, set out in a draft resolution that was adopted unanimously, are: a clear definition of food waste, a common method for measuring it, a legally binding 50% reduction target by 2030 and an objective for member states of at least a 30% reduction by 2025, corrective measures to European legislation to make it easier to make food donations and awareness-raising and information campaigns to ease the confusion among many consumers between the “best before” date, after which food may still be consumed, and the “use by” date, which indicates the final date by which the product must be consumed.
The committee largely followed the line taken by rapporteur Biljana Borzan (S&D, Croatia), calling for a holistic and coordinated approach to give substance to an initiative on the efficient use of resources to reduce this blight of rich countries and increase food security as part of the EU action plan on the circular economy (see EUROPE 11745 and 11705).
“In developed countries food is wasted mostly at the end of the chain, at distribution and consumption. Everyone has a responsibility to tackle this problem. My report calls for a coordinated policy response on labelling, liability and education, as most consumers do not understand the precise meaning of ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ labelling”, Borzan stated.
The MEPs on the committee felt that national authorities and stakeholders had to help consumers understand that foodstuffs are still safe to eat after the “best before” date. The Commission, they said, should assess the possible benefits of removing certain dates from products where there is no risk to public health or the environment.
The committee wants the Commission to propose a change in the VAT directive that would explicitly authorise tax exemptions on food donations. It should be possible, it argues, for the EU Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) to finance the cost of collecting, transporting, storing and distributing food donations
The European Parliament will put the draft resolution to a vote in the mid-May plenary session (15-18 May). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)