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FOLOU contributes to the 1st Congress on the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste in Catalonia

07/10/2026

The 1st Congress on the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste brought together public authorities, research organisations, businesses and social organisations in Barcelona to discuss how to better understand, prevent and address food loss and waste across the food system.

Held on 23 September 2026 at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, the congress highlighted the importance of reliable and comparable data as a basis for understanding the scale and causes of food loss and waste and developing effective prevention measures.

FOLOU was represented during the session dedicated to food loss across the food chain. Pablo Castro from Fundació Espigoladors presented findings from FOLOU’s work in the Catalan horticultural sector. The analysis estimated median potential food losses at 4,866 kg per hectare, equivalent to 18.71% of total production. Particularly strikingly, 68.5% of the losses analysed were edible.

The findings underline the importance of measuring food loss and understanding why it occurs. Causes identified in the analysis included aesthetic criteria, a lack of buyers for certain products and labour shortages. Better data can help identify where interventions are needed and support solutions that prevent food from being lost in the first place.

The congress also emphasised the need for harmonised approaches to measurement, coordinated policies and collaboration between public authorities, the primary sector, businesses, researchers and civil society. These priorities closely align with FOLOU’s work to improve the understanding, measurement and management of food loss in primary production.

Read the full article about the congress on the PEMB website: 1st Congress on the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste