Consumer food waste

55% of food waste comes from households, which generated on average 70 kg of food waste per inhabitant in 2020. Data varies significantly across Member States.

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Title: Consumer food waste

Status: Indicator

Coverage: EU Member States, 2020

Source: Eurostat, 2022

Since 2022, the EU is building statistics on food waste, covering households and economic activity sectors. Data on food waste are reported by Member States according to different methodologies (see Methodology section). These data understands food waste as food that has become waste under the conditions of 1) it has entered the food supply chain, 2) it has been removed or discarded from the food supply chain or the final consumption stage, and 3) it is destined to be processed as waste. This excludes food losses, i.e. food that has not been harvested or food that is not authorised to be marketed for safety reasons.

According to the 2020 estimates, more than half of food waste came from households (55%), which generated on average 70 kg of food waste per inhabitant. The remaining food waste was generated in previous steps of the food supply chain, remarkably by processing and manufacturing industries (18%) and primary production (11%).

Data varies significantly across Member States, whose data are not displayed here due to the limitations encountered during the assessment of the data collection exercise, being the 2020 statistics the first dedicated statistical monitoring of food waste.

An estimated 20% of the total food produced in the EU is lost or wasted, with most food waste coming from homes. The Farm to Fork strategy, at the heart of the European Green Deal and following the Sustainable Development Goal target 12.33, includes the commitment to halve the per capita food waste by retailers and consumers by 2030. Food waste prevention and the need for more sustainable production and consumption models are also priorities the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan.

Reducing food waste would bring economic and environmental benefits, notably reduced environmental impacts derived from decreased use of resources for food production, transport, processing and waste management. Monitoring food waste is essential to develop strategies for food waste reduction, such as the ongoing EU action against food waste4 and countries' food waste prevention programmes (as required by the Waste Framework Directive).

Definition

Consumer food waste refers to any food that has become waste under the conditions detailed in the methodology, which has been produced by households. Food (or foodstuff) relates to any substance or product, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be, or reasonably expected to be ingested by humans. The conditions for food to be considered food waste are:

it has entered the food supply chain,
it has then been removed or discarded from the food supply chain or at the final consumption stage,
it is finally destined to be processed as waste.

Methodology

Food waste amounts are estimated by Member States for all stages of the food supply chain using the methodology set out in Annex III of Commission delegated decision (EU) 2019/1597. This reporting obligation was established by Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC). The Commission delegated decision (EU) 2019/1597 defines the common methodology and minimum quality requirements for the uniform measurement of levels of food waste. The Commission implementing decision (EU) 2019/2000 provides the reporting format and envisages these methodologies, by sector of activity:

"Direct measurement" and/or "Waste composition analysis": for all sectors of activities
"Mass balance": for sectors "Primary production", "Processing and manufacturing" and "Retail and other distribution of food"
"Questionnaires and interviews" and/or "Coefficients and production statistics": for sectors "Primary production" and "Processing and manufacturing"
"Counting/scanning": for sectors "Retail and other distribution of food" and "Restaurants and food services"
"Diaries": for sectors "Restaurants and food services" and "Households"

(Definitions taken from

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Food_waste_and_food_waste_prevention_-_estimates#Methodology

)

Metadata

Source: Eurostat, 2022, Food waste and food waste prevention – estimates, online data code env_wasfw,
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Food_waste_and_food_waste_prevention_-_estimates#Amounts_of_food_waste_at_EU_leveleuropa.eu
Unit: Million tonnes (of fresh mass).
Temporal coverage: 2020.
Geographical coverage: EU27 (also available by Member State).

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