Welcoming the guidelines published by the European Commission on 16 October on food donations in the EU (see EUROPE 11884), EuroCommerce, the European retail, wholesale and international trade association, immediately put forward its suggestions to make efforts to tackle food waste in the member states a success, including through innovative solutions.
“We welcome the guidelines as a good overview of relevant legislation that a business should be aware of and take into account when considering food surplus redistribution. However, the guidelines are limited to the interpretation and understanding of relevant EU legislation. We hope that it will also guide Member States in getting rid of national obstacles to donations”, stated EuroCommerce Director General Christian Verschueren.
EuroCommerce welcomes, in particular, the usefulness of the guidelines in clarifying important issues, such as legal liability and hygiene requirements, and is pleased at the progress made by member states in reducing VAT to zero or close to zero for food donations.
Noting an increase in innovative solutions to reduce food waste and increase the effectiveness of food donations, for example, in the area of matching of supply and demand by using digital applications, EuroCommerce cites the example of the FareShare FoodCloud app in the United Kingdom, which allows local charities and community groups to know how much surplus food they can expect at the end of the day. “We welcome innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship in this area, as new ideas and new ways of working together are key to reduce food waste. We recommend further promoting them across the EU”, said Verschueren.
EuroCommerce, which is a member of the EU platform on food losses and food waste, participated actively in the drafting process of the guidelines and states that it will support and disseminate them among its members. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)