Spanish households throw away 1,364 million kilos of food every year, an average of 31 kg per person, according to 2020 data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
Therefore, the Spanish government is seeking for alternatives to reduce and prevent food loss and wastage in the country. Since this is becoming a greater issue.
Among the measures introduced by this regulation is the obligation for all agents in the food chain to draw up a prevention plan to avoid waste. It also includes sanctions for bars, restaurants and supermarkets that do not comply with this legislation, according to EL PAÍS.
These prevention plans must prioritise the use of food before it reaches the landfill. The priority, the ministry explains, should be human consumption through donation to organisations such as food banks. Companies will be obliged to sign agreements with the receiving organisations specifying the conditions for collection, storage and transport. The ministry stresses the importance of traceability of donated food: it must be possible to know where each food comes from.
The SISTERS strategy aims to contribute to this cause by implementing five innovative strategies, one at each stage of the food chain, to systemically address the challenges regarding food loss and waste understanding their dynamics and maximizing the uptake of solutions:
SISTERS systemic innovations
- SHORT CHAIN PLATFORM
- SMART CONTAINERS: StoreBox & BulkBox
- BIOBASED & ACTIVE FOOD PACKAGING
- SEAL OF EXCELLENCE: Guidelines & Labelling
- QR LABELLING CODIFICATION
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