NIKOLAOS MILIONIS, BETTINA JAKOBSEN, JANUSZ WOJCIECHOWSKI
European Court of Auditors, Luxembourg

Abstract

The European Court of Auditors is currently conducting a series of audits along the food chain. The auditors published a special report on food waste in 2017 and reports on food safety and animal welfare are expected in late 2018. A report on organic food is planned for 2019.

COMBATTING FOOD WASTE – A WASTED OPPORTUNITY?

Food waste is a problem that has moved up the public and political agenda in recent years. Several studies indicate that around a third of food produced for human consumption is wasted or lost globally. The European Commission has estimated that around 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually in the EU. The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is currently conducting a series of audits along the food chain from animal welfare, to organic food and food safety. 

The series started with a report in 2017 on food waste. The auditors examined EU action to reduce food waste and how the various policy instruments work. They were critical of what they found. Their main conclusion was that EU can, and should, do better to combat food waste effectively. They also noted that food waste is a problem along the entire food supply chain and that action should be targeted all along the chain, with the emphasis on prevention, as the benefits of avoiding waste outweigh the cost of dealing with it later. Major policy areas such as agriculture, fisheries and food safety all have a role ...