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FAO-AnimalFeeding-Mailing list to share relevant information and documents <[log in to unmask]>
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"Makkar, Harinder (AGAS)" <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 7 Dec 2015 11:43:00 +0100
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Dear Colleagues,

Following information might be of interest to workers in the area of animal feed and feeding.


1.       Recently The European Commission released the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy  - Closing the loop: Commission adopts ambitious new Circular Economy Package to boost competitiveness, create jobs and generate sustainable growth. See yellow marked text in Point 5.2 below - some expected changes in using food waste as animal feed in the EU in the future.



(attention is also drawn to a related information: a recently held FAO e-conference on 'Utilization of Food Loss and Waste as well as Non-Food Parts as Livestock Feed' (http://www.fao.org/save-food/news-and-multimedia/events/detail/fr/c/325893/ ); .and the background document for this e-conference (http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/food-loss-reduction/CoP_English/Background_Document_E-Conference_Food_Loss_to_Feed.pdf ). Based on the discussion at this e-conference, a synthesis document is being prepared, which will be available in January 2016).



Point 5.2. Food waste of the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Closing the loop - An EU action plan for the Circular Economy - http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/jobs-growth-investment/circular-economy/docs/communication-action-plan-for-circular-economy_en.pdf


Food waste is an increasing concern in Europe. The production, distribution and storage of food use natural resources and generate environmental impacts. Discarding food that is still edible increases these impacts, and causes financial loss for consumers and the economy. Food waste also has an important social angle: donation of food that is still edible but that for logistic or marketing reasons cannot be commercialised should be facilitated. In September 2015, as part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a target of halving per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reducing food losses along production and supply chains. The EU and its Member States are committed to meeting this target.

Food waste takes place all along the value chain: during production and distribution, in shops, restaurants, catering facilities, and at home. This makes it particularly hard to quantify: today, there is no harmonised, reliable method to measure food waste in the EU, which makes it more difficult for public authorities to assess its scale, origins, and trends over time. Addressing the measurement issue is an important step towards a better understanding of the problem, a coherent monitoring and reporting as well as effective exchange of good practices across the EU. The Commission will elaborate a common EU methodology to measure food waste in close cooperation with Member States and stakeholders.

Action by Member States, regions, cities, and business along the value chain is essential to prevent food waste and tackle varying situations across countries and regions. Awareness campaigns are needed to change behaviour. The Commission supports awareness raising at national, regional and local levels and the dissemination of good practices in food waste prevention36.
The Commission will also create a platform dedicated to food waste, bringing together Member States and all actors in the food chain. This platform will support the achievement of the food waste reduction target under the Sustainable Development Goals through appropriate steps, the involvement of stakeholders, the sharing of valuable and successful innovation and relevant benchmarking.

EU action is also important in areas where food waste can result from the way EU legislation is interpreted or implemented. This is the case for rules concerning food donation to food banks, and the use of safe unsold food as a resource in animal feed - the Commission will take measures in these two areas.
Another area where action might be needed concerns date marking, in particular the "best before" date. This can be wrongly interpreted as an expiry date and lead to the discarding of safe, edible food. The Commission will examine ways of promoting a better use and understanding of date marking by the various actors of the food chain. The EU has also adopted measures to prevent edible fish being thrown back into the sea from fishing vessels.


In order to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal target on food waste and to maximise the contribution of actors in the food supply chain, the Commission will:



- develop a common EU methodology to measure food waste and define relevant indicators. It will create a platform involving Member States and stakeholders in order to support the achievement of the SDG targets on food waste, through the sharing of best practice and the evaluation of progress made over time.

- take measures to clarify EU legislation relating to waste, food and feed and facilitate food donation and the use of former foodstuff and by-products from the food chain in feed production without compromising food and feed safety; and
- examine ways to improve the use of date marking by actors in the food chain and its understanding by consumers, in particular the "best before" label.


Best,

Harinder

Harinder P.S. Makkar
Animal Production and Health Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy

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