Harmonizing food waste reporting in the EU: Decoding flows at the level of food supply chain stages

Description

2024 is the second mandatory period for EU Member States to report on the amount of food waste generated along the food supply chain. The European Commission has provided a common methodology and minimum quality requirements for uniform measurement of food waste levels (EC, 2019) and guidance on reporting data on food waste and food waste prevention (EC, 2022). However, the scope of food waste measurement is still vague and interpreted differently across Member States.
The EC methodology clearly outlines some flows that must be excluded from reporting, such as manure, straw and other natural materials that are linked to the food supply chain but never enter it as food. The methodology also defines flows that must be reported and flows that can be reported on a voluntary basis. However, the methodology is less clear on the inclusion or exclusion of such flows as by-products. Furthermore, the methodology does not provide clarity on the inclusion or exclusion of the different flows at the level of the food supply chain. This study aims to provide a distinction between the different flows within and from the food supply chain that need to be included in national food waste measurement and reporting at each food supply chain stage, and the flows whose inclusion has been misunderstood.
We used content analysis of mainly European legislation and policy documents, supplemented by analysis of grey and white literature.
For each stage of the food supply chain, we have clearly identified and listed the flows, economic activities, waste generation sources and waste destinations that need to be considered in food waste reporting. For example, for the primary production stage, we have detailed the flows for four different groups of agricultural activities: (1) crop production, (2) meat production and hunting, (3) dairy and egg production and beekeeping, (4) fishing and aquaculture. In addition, for activity groups (1), (2) and (4), we divided the primary production stage into three sub-stages: pre-harvest (pre-slaughter, pre-hunting), harvest (slaughter, hunting) and post-harvest (post-slaughter, post-hunting), in order to distinguish between sub-stages before and after entering the food supply chain, as this is essential for determining when a product is considered food (according to EU Directive 2018/851 (EU, 2018), food waste is “food that has become waste”). As a result, a series of schemes have been developed that provide a detailed overview of the flows that must be (mandatory) or can be (voluntary) included in or excluded from the national food waste measurement at each stage of the food supply chain.
Our findings propose a streamlined framework for reporting that addresses previous ambiguities and supports EU efforts to harmonize food waste measurement, crucial for tracking progress towards UN SDG 12.3 (UN, 2016). This study not only clarifies reporting requirements but also identifies gaps for future legislative refinement.

Period	25 Sept 2024 → 28 Sept 2024
Event title	Rethink Food Resources, Losses, and Waste: 4th International Conference
Event type	Conference
Conference number	4
Location	Archanes, GreeceShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International