EFFPA hopes the European Commission will hold its word and relaunch a more ambitious proposal of the Waste Legislative Package by the end of 2015. The original proposal, published in July 2014 and withdrawn in December 2014, contained a definition of food waste that specifically excluded food losses destined to animal feed to be considered as such.
According to the proposal, food waste is “food (including inedible parts) lost from the food supply chain, not including food diverted to material uses such as bio-based products, animal feed, or sent for redistribution”. This definition would mean a full recognition by the European Commission on the contribution of former foodstuff processors to the sustainability of the food supply chain. Further to the food waste definition, the proposal urged Member States to construct their national food waste prevention programmes in such a manner that former foodstuffs destined to animal feed receive priority over composting, the creation of renewable energy and landfill, provided that Union legislation regarding feed safety and animal health are guaranteed.
EFFPA President Paul Featherstone hopes the incoming Commission will indeed come forward with an even more ambitious proposal. “Considering DG SANTE now has full responsibility over the food waste file, there is a part of me that actually understands why redrafting the proposal could be useful. Taking the circular economy perspective around food waste, the Commission could insist on amending the Waste Framework Directive to make an EU-harmonized legal non-waste status of former foodstuffs destined to animal feed possible”.