Reducing food loss and waste is an integral part of the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy and is key to achieving a sustainable food system. The Platform will contribute to key deliverables foreseen by the Strategy, such as the future Commission proposals to establish legally binding targets to reduce food waste across the EU and the revision of EU date marking rules. It will help the Commission investigate food losses at the production stage and will encourage implementation of  the Platform’s key recommendations for action in food waste prevention, showing the way forward for all actors.

Importantly, the Platform will continue to mobilise all key players - Member States, food businesses and civil society – to take and scale-up action needed to accelerate the EU’s progress towards Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030 and to reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains.

Launched in 2016, the Platform has played a pivotal role in advancing and coordinating food loss and waste prevention efforts at EU level. The Platform provides a forum of open dialogue on food loss and waste prevention, supporting all actors in defining measures needed to prevent food waste, sharing best practice and evaluating progress made over time.

The Platform brings together all relevant actors: public entities (national administrations in the EU-27 and EFTA countries, EU bodies and international organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations Environment Programme) as well as actors in the food value chain including consumer and other non-governmental organisations.

More information on the European Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste can be found on its dedicated webpage on the Commission’s Food waste website.

The deadline for applicants wishing to join the Platform for its second mandate (2022-2026) is 23 July 2021. Relevant information regarding the call for applications can be found here.