Food loss and waste is a pressing issue across the European Union, impacting the environment, economy, and food security. Various EU-funded projects, including FOLOU, ROSETTA, BREADCRUMB, and SISTERS, are tackling this challenge by developing innovative solutions and fostering collaborative efforts to raise awareness and reduce food losses at the agricultural level. This blog post explores how these initiatives work together to address FLW comprehensively.

FOLOU Project: A Comprehensive Approach to Food Loss

The FOLOU project focuses on food loss at the primary production stage, with a comprehensive strategy to measure, monitor, and assess food losses. FOLOU defines food loss and develops a behavioral framework to analyze its causes. The project has established a standardized methodology for measuring food loss, including a detailed Food Loss Quantification Manual and innovative tools like UAVs and AI systems. To enhance knowledge dissemination, FOLOU is also developing an eLearning center offering courses on food loss management, covering topics from basic concepts to advanced measurement techniques and policy integration.

Collaboration is a core aspect of the FOLOU project, working with other EU projects and platforms like the Biorefine Cluster Europe and the EU Food Loss and Waste Prevention Hub. These partnerships help to amplify the project's impact, ensuring that best practices and innovative solutions reach a broader audience. Notably, FOLOU collaborates with the WASTELESS project through joint webinars and activities, enhancing the collective effort to reduce food loss.

ROSETTA Project: Reducing Waste Through Market Standards Innovation

ROSETTA is a three-year project funded by the EU's Horizon Europe Programme, focused on reducing food waste caused by strict marketing standards. These standards often lead to the discard of perfectly edible food due to aesthetic criteria or other quality-related factors. ROSETTA aims to estimate the amount of food wasted due to these standards and co-design solutions to repurpose or valorize this waste. The project runs real-world experiments in five countries, testing alternatives like new markets for "ugly" produce, processing methods, and consumer practice shifts.

Through its transdisciplinary research and sustainability assessments, ROSETTA targets a 60-80% reduction in food waste due to marketing standards. By aligning its efforts with complementary projects, initiatives, and networks, ROSETTA fosters knowledge exchange and builds a collaborative framework that supports widespread adoption of its findings and practices.

BREADCRUMB Project: Investigating Food Waste Across the Supply Chain

The BREADCRUMB project is dedicated to understanding the role of food marketing standards in contributing to food waste across five key commodities: fruits and vegetables, meat, eggs, cereals, and fish. The project conducts in-depth case studies and surveys with stakeholders to identify how both public and private marketing standards impact food waste. By exploring the specific challenges of each commodity, BREADCRUMB seeks to pinpoint opportunities for change and develop targeted solutions.

A critical aspect of BREADCRUMB is its collaboration with other EU projects like ROSETTA, SISTERS, and CHORIZO. These partnerships enable a comprehensive approach to tackling food waste from multiple angles, whether by addressing consumer behavior, policy frameworks, or technological innovations. Together, these projects create a unified front against food waste, sharing knowledge and best practices to maximize their collective impact.

SISTERS Project: Innovating for a Sustainable Food Chain

The SISTERS project is transforming the food value chain by developing systemic innovations to reduce food loss and waste across all stages, from production to consumption. One of the project's key innovations is the Regioneo platform, the first European short chain platform for farmers, helping them sell discarded fruits and vegetables. By promoting direct sales and reducing intermediaries, Regioneo enables farmers to minimize waste and increase their profitability.

Collaboration with other projects and networks is crucial for SISTERS to maximize the outcomes of its activities. By working with related European projects and the EU Green Deal #FoodWorkingGroup members, SISTERS promotes Regioneo among early adopter farmers. Moreover, large-scale awareness campaigns targeting consumers and retailers are essential for reducing food waste, particularly at the retail and consumer stages. By joining forces with other initiatives, SISTERS aims to create multifaceted campaigns that deliver impactful messages and reach a broader audience.