In the closing session of the European Citizens' Panel on Food Waste in February 2023, citizens called for a greater voice in policy-making related to food systems, not only at the EU level, but also by creating the engagement platforms of local and national citizens.

Citizens took a broad, systemic approach in addressing the issue of food waste, They called for a fair, equitable food supply chain that ensures solidarity.

Their 23 recommendations cover three main areas:

1) Collaboration in the food value chain: from farm to fork;

2) Food business initiatives and

3) Supporting consumer behaviour change.

Food waste is a societal problem that is ongoing. With nearly 57 million tonnes of food waste generated in the EU by 2020 (or 127 kg per person) and with an estimated value of €130 billion. Action has been taken in the EU to prevent food waste since the adoption of the first Circular Economy Action Plan in 2015.

The citizen panel's recommendation that stood out is: the shorter the chain, the happier the consumer, the less waste and the more sustainable.

The citizen panel recommends the EU continue their work with policies and initiatives to support small-scale. They see food waste being produced mainly in the chain of large retailers.

Three aspects need specific attention in this regard:

1) The EU and its member states should encourage retailers and supermarkets to always use the closest possible producer. Furthermore, they should develop incentives that motivate retailers to follow these recommendations.

2) The EU should monitor, track and intervene if the ban on last -minute cancellations from 2019 has not been followed.

3) The EU should continue to work with policies on ugly/wrongly shaped food and examine the implications of these rejections in relation to waste.

See report: flw_eu-actions_fwrt_20230210_recom-cit_0.pdf (europa.eu)