Abstract
Food loss and waste (FLW) is an environmental, social, and economic problem. Countries all around the world are looking for efficient strategies to prevent and reduce FLW, as recommended by target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The European Union (EU) is strongly committed to helping solve the FLW issue, setting up the Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, and adopting the Farm to Fork Strategy. Italy has also adopted a consolidated approach toward this issue, in particular through the redistribution of food surplus to those in need, a policy that was instituted with the Gadda Law 166/2016. Importantly, this normative framework also provided for the establishment of the National Observatory on Food Surplus, Recovery, and Waste [Osservatorio sulle Eccedenze, i Recuperi e gli Sprechi Alimentari (OERSA)]. This article describes the creation and development of the OERSA, as the technical entity supporting national FLW policies. One of the first actions taken by the OERSA was that of mapping the FLW initiatives that were being implemented along the entire food supply chain in Italy. This gave the OERSA a solid foundation on which to begin working on two different fronts: (1) Collecting data regarding the primary production sector and at the consumer level and (2) Establishing educational programs and awareness campaigns. The data collected by the OERSA highlight that, although several actors of the Italian supply chain are already conscious of the causes of FLW, new strategies that focus on innovation and cooperation should be encouraged.
Highlights
Food loss and waste (FLW) prevention and reduction are among the political priorities for national governments and international organizations
Main Results of the OERSA Data Collection. In accordance with these two action directives, during their first 2 years of activity, the OERSA carried out an assessment on household food waste and an evaluation of food surplus, losses, and waste in the primary sector (Directive action 1)
There was a significant association between household food waste and preventive practices and the ability to reduce the amount of food that had to be thrown away
Summary
Food loss and waste (FLW) prevention and reduction are among the political priorities for national governments and international organizations. It is a subject that is attracting increasing interest, spurring researchers to work on developing prevention, valorization, and management strategies [1,2,3]. The 17 SDGs were adopted by all the United Nations Member States in 2015 as a part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which set out a 15-year plan to achieve these SDGs [4]. Each SDG is organized in measurable and monitorable targets. Target 12.3, which aims by 2030 to halve per capita global food waste at retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including postharvest losses, is included in the framework of SDG 12 related to sustainable
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