Private sector participation in global food losses and waste discussions

October 3, 2014 – As the Plenary session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) draws nearer, a cross-section of industry representatives are preparing to be present in Rome on Monday 13 October for the Round Table policy debates to emphasise the following points on food losses and waste:

• Reducing food losses and waste is a core to how businesses function, as it offers an important way to maximize efficiency and returns.
• The private sector is already actively addressing the issue of food losses and waste in its own operations, through supply chains, and by providing services and products to help others reduce waste and losses.
• The private sector’s efforts need to be supported by sound policies as well as public investments in key areas, such as infrastructure, to be able to grow in scale and maximize impact and minimizing post-harvest losses.
• Discussions to date have placed great emphasis on loss and waste at the retail stage. However it is important to tackle the issue through the supply chain and to recognise the need to address the roles of other actors, such as consumers, in reducing loss and waste.