Cutting food loss by increasing data and awareness

Food waste represents a significant loss of time, money, and energy. The journey of food spans from its origins in fields, greenhouses, cow barns, lakes and forests to its processing in food factories and retail, all of which require considerable effort invested by numerous individuals.

Despite the extensive processes that bring food to us as consumers, food is often thrown away for various unnecessary reasons, including taking too much on one’s plate or dislikes of taste. The scale of food waste in Europe is considerable. Each year, an estimated 130 kg of food waste is generated per inhabitant, with approximately half of this amount coming from household waste (EuroStat, 2025).

Collaboration and opportunities for managing food waste in Häme

The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste (2019) has developed recommendations to help prevent food waste. In Finland, these recommendations are being promoted regionally by the project “Cutting food loss and waste in Europe (CIBUS)”. In the Häme region, the new Häme 2026–2029 regional program (Regional Council of Häme, 2025) specifically mentions food loss prevention for the first time, creating opportunities for targeted interventions.

The Häme University of Applied Sciences and the Regional Council of Häme have contributed to the project, during which stakeholders met regularly and discussed ongoing activities and key actors involved in food waste prevention.

In one workshop with stakeholders, we examined the EU recommendations (EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, 2019) given for reducing food waste and their regional impact. The stakeholders mostly represented sectors from research and education. Below, I discuss four key takeaways from the discussions of the most important themes of recommendations in Finland and regional point of view.

Firstly, the importance of information was a central theme in discussions about managing food waste. Without knowledge of what food waste is, where it originates, and what its consequences are, it is challenging to address its prevention and management in the food chain. Effective food waste management requires both careful measurement and a deep understanding of the issue of food actors. Once these foundational elements are in place, efforts to manage food waste can become a consistent, ongoing process.

Secondly, reducing food waste demands activities across the entire food chain and the involvement of everyone from individuals to communities. This could start already from home where parents can help children value food by modeling positive everyday habits. Also, companies could explore creative ways to share information and help prevent food waste, for example, through food packaging or fun stickers inside cereal boxes. Organizations and companies could also use influencers and different media channels to raise awareness.

As a third takeaway, we recognized the central role of retail. Retailers were identified as key actors in the food chain as they have the potential to significantly help in reducing food waste. Shops can contribute by sharing information for their customers. It was also mentioned that retailers could increase their participation in development activities. Enhancing communication between retailers and suppliers could be helpful in preventing food loss. This ensures that products are made at the right time and meet actual demand. In the workshop meeting, we also discussed whether Finnish consumer behavior could be shifted by enhancing satisfaction with a limited variety of products instead of meeting the demand for a large variety of products from numerous manufacturers and flavor variants.

Lastly, making the food waste statistics visible has already increased understanding of its significance. When the price of loss and waste in companies is calculated in euros, this is a good driver to push the effort to prevent such loss. In addition to ecological responsibility, this approach would bring clear economic benefits to all stakeholders.

Future challenges to prevent food loss

In the future, the need for effective action will only grow. In addition to current issues, climate change poses new challenges for food production and will require a reassessment of food waste and by-products throughout the food production chain. Measurement and documentation of food waste and loss must be adapted to meet tightening legislative requirements across the EU. Active research and development initiatives, such as pilots and projects, can serve as valuable starting points for improvement. A good example of this are the best practices collected in the CIBUS project and the stakeholder involvement in its activities.

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