On 9 September 2025, the European Parliament adopted new binding EU-wide targets aimed at significantly reducing food waste by 2030. The measures require Member States to cut food losses in processing and manufacturing sectors by 10%, while food waste from retail, food services, and households must be reduced by 30% per capita, compared to the annual average recorded between 2021 and 2023.
The purpose of these regulations is not only to reduce the amount of discarded food but also to optimise the resources wasted along with it, such as water, energy, and fertilisers used to produce and store food that eventually ends up as waste. The EU estimates that nearly 60 million tonnes of food are lost every year, the equivalent of around 132 kilograms per person.
Environmental organisations, including Zero Waste Europe, welcomed the initiative but stressed that the new targets come too late and are not fully aligned with previous EU commitments, such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which calls for a 50% reduction in food waste across the entire supply chain. Under the new legislation, Member States will have 20 months from its entry into force to transpose the rules into national law.
These measures are expected to have major effects not only on the environment but also on the economy, by cutting methane emissions caused by poorly managed food waste and by increasing efficiency throughout the food supply chain—from production to consumption.
Source NEW FOOD.