Project scope

In line with the EU Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy, FOLOU is willing to contribute to unlock the systemic transition of EU food systems by setting up the necessary mechanisms to:

  • measure and estimate food losses at primary production stage, encompassing agriculture, aquaculture, and  fisheries;
  • monitor and report food losses at Member States and European levels;
  • assess the magnitude and impact of Food Losses, and identify its key drivers.

Additionally, FOLOU will also work to assure the appropriate knowledge transfer and adoption of the project outcomes by the key targeted stakeholders: primary producers, retailers, consumers, policy makers and researchers.

FOLOU will structure its activities in a comprehensive action plan revolving around four levers of change:

  • Understanding by working on collecting and curing food losses available data, by understanding the drivers behind food losses and by assessing the impact of these losses;
  • Measuring by developing new cost-effective tools for the measurement/estimation of food losses and a robust and harmonized quantification methodology for five main commodity groups;
  • Training by providing tailored trainings to different stakeholders;
  • Adopting by preparing recommendations and creating a twinning programme between frontrunner and followers regions.

FOLOU methodology

FOLOU outcomes

METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING AND ESTIMATING FOOD LOSSES FOR 5 MAIN COMMODITY CATEGORIES

ROADMAP FOR FL METHODOLOGY STANDARDIZATION

6 VALIDATED TOOLS FOR QUANTIFICATION OF FOOD LOSSES AT PRIMARY PRODUCTION STAGE.

NATIONAL FOOD LOSSES REGISTRY (N-FLR) AND EUROPEAN FOOD LOSSES REGISTRY (E-FLR)

FOLOU SUSTAINABILITY TOOL

STANDARD RESEARCH PROTOCOL FOR THE DATA COLLECTION OF THE FOOD LOSS DRIVERS

1 REDUCTION STRATEGY BASED ON MARKET DEMAND SHIFTS

5 BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES TO REDUCE FOOD LOSSES

2 POLICY BRIEFS

FOOD LOSSES REPOSITORY

5 SPECIFIC TRAINING PACKAGES FOR KEY STAKEHOLDERS

TWINNING PROGRAMME FOR REGIONS

Expected results

FOLOU will provide policy relevant information to achieve the mid-term goal of having food losses included in the EU regulations as has happened with food waste (e.g., EU Commission Decision 2019/1597), once in place, Member States have a maximum of two years to transpose it to its national regulations. Thus, FOLOU aims to contribute to that most of the 27 EU State Members are measuring/estimating food losses around year 2035.

This will help in setting up clear reduction targets, which currently does not exist because the lack of reliable estimations prevents formulating realistic reduction targets, and will definitely contribute in implementing the FOLOU strategies to significantly reduce food losses and mitigate its concomitant impacts.