29/05/2012 - The annual meeting of the European Federation of Food Banks (FEBA) took place in Vilnius, Lithuania, from May 10 to 12, 2012. Members of European food banks met with representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament and multinational food manufacturers to discuss the topic of partnerships with stakeholders in the food chain (producers, food industry, retailers).
Considering the increasing number of economically deprived people in the European Union, where 80 million live below the poverty line (Source: Eurostat), participants agreed on the urgency of tackling the problem of food waste. As food banks are an integral part of the food chain and an efficient solution to prevent food wastage, they will be involved in the European Commission’s working group that will define actions to be implemented in the shortest possible time frame.
One proposed action is informing the public about the difference between the "use-by date", which has to be respected for safety issues, and the "best-before date", which guarantees optimum qualities of taste, appearance and nutrition of products but is not linked to any risk for the health. The Commission is currently considering a proposal to make more products exempt of a "best-before date". Also, an online database of best practices to fight food waste will be created for the EU Member States. The database will be available in six languages and also serve to facilitate communication between the food chain actors and the European food banks.
Other important topics were the need to clarify the figures published on food waste by making a distinction between surpluses and losses, and between products that are discarded and those used for other purposes (bio-fuels, animals, crops left for soil regeneration, etc.), and a system to locate recoverable sources geographically and according to food sector. Representatives of the food banks furthermore explained that logistic costs are a huge strain on their budgets, and called for financial aids for the transport and/or processing of donated products.
The participants also discussed the future of the European Programme of Food Aid to the most Deprived (PEAD). FEBA advocates the creation of a new European Union food aid to replace the current programme which ends in 2013. Together with other associations, FEBA will be involved in the Commission’s work of defining the future programme.
For more information, visit FEBA’s website.
