In 2022, 59.2 million tonnes of food waste were generated in the European Union, including edible and inedible parts, which represents a waste of 132 kilos per capita, according to data published this Friday by Eurostat. Among this waste, more than half (54%) were produced in homes, which represents 72 kilos of waste per inhabitantwhile the rest came from other parts of the supply chain.
Food and beverage manufacturers were responsible for the 19% of this wastes, followed by restaurants and food services (11%), food retailers and distributors (8%); and primary sector producers (8%), according to figures from the Community Statistics Office.
“Only in Europe, every year they waste 59 million tonnes of food at a cost of several billion euros. Meanwhile, millions of Europeans cannot afford just one healthy meal a day. “This is an unacceptable waste of resources, from water and land to energy and labor,” said EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.
Worldwide, a third of the food produced in 2024 was lost or wasted, recalled the commissioner in a press release on the occasion of World Food Loss and Waste Awareness Day, celebrated on Sunday. “It is our moral and ecological imperative to act,” said the Cypriot, who stressed that the EU had set itself the goal of halving the amount of food waste by 2030.
To this end, Brussels has proposed a revision of the Food Waste Directive in 2023 which requires member states to take measures to reduce waste generated during the processing and manufacturing phases of food by 10% by the end of this decade, as well as in a 30% (per capita) produced jointly by restaurantscatering services and homes.
The EU Council (member states) agrees with these targets, while the European Parliament has called for increasing reduce targets by up to 20% and 40%respectively. The two institutions still need to negotiate the standard and reach consensus so that it can be approved and come into force. Achieving these goals “requires the collective effort of all sectors of society: governments, businesses and individuals,” Kyriakides said.
