The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste (FLW) was formed as part of the EU and Member States’ commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 12.3: “By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses”. ¹ 

70% of EU food waste arises in the household, retail, and food service sectors² (which includes food service in the healthcare sector). The Platform will bring together public entities and actors in the food value chain including consumer- and other non-governmental organisations. The invited public bodies include:

• EU Member States
• EU Committee of Regions (CoR)
• European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
• Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 

In response to the open call for applications³, 90 industry associations and NGOs applied - and HCWH Europe are proud to announce they are one of the 37 that were accepted.

The Platform⁴ will aid the Commission in identifying and prioritising actions to be taken at EU level in order to prevent food losses and food waste, as well as sharing information, and best practice related to food waste prevention. Additionally, the Platform will:

• Define and develop a methodology framework for food waste
• Monitor food waste levels and progress made by all actors towards the achievement of SDG 12.3
• Strengthen the evidence base (consumer, scientific, etc.) in order to implement EU legislation related to waste, food, and feed to ensure the highest value use of food resources (in line with a "food use hierarchy")
• Facilitate food redistribution
• Promote better use and understanding of date marking amongst other actions

Working together with the other members of the platform, HCWH Europe hopes to be a leading voice for food waste prevention and reduction in the European healthcare sector and advance on this concerning issue that affects our environment, health, society, and economy.

_{Preview image: Nick Saltmarsh via Flickr cc}

References

(1) http://www.globalgoals.org/global-goals/responsible-consumption/

(2) http://www.eu-fusions.org/phocadownload/Publications/Estimates%20of%20European%20food%20waste%20levels.pdf

(3) http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=news.calls_for_app

(4) http://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/docs/fw_eu-actions_flw-platform_tor.pdf