Surplus food

Food waste is a major problem in our current society and also negatively affects biodiversity due to the inefficient use of land and resources. It occurs throughout the whole chain – retailers, distribution services, horeca sector, end-consumers etc. Maximizing the use of these goods once produced and in the supply chain enables to reduce the impact on primary resources and biodiversity.

Surplus food is the parts of food which are still fit for human consumption but are nevertheless discarded. This is a waste of money, resources and is source of pollution. Reducing the amount of wasted food will benefit biodiversity and all citizens. And it is easily done through food recovery and redistribution within the supply chain. But the consumers can also change their consumption patterns to eliminate and reduce a maximum their food waste and thus contribute in their daily life to the fight against biodiversity loss.

Food recovery: to receive, with or without payment, food (processed, semi-processed or raw) which would otherwise be discarded or wasted from the agricultural, livestock and fisheries supply chains of the food system.

Food redistribution: to store or process and then distribute the received food pursuant to appropriate safety, quality and regulatory frameworks directly or through intermediaries, and with or without payment, to those having access to it for food intake.