FAO seeks to promote actions to reduce food waste in the region
18 noviembre 2021

SUSTAINABILITY

Food waste. On November 17 and 18, the II Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Food Loss and Waste Reduction was held in Santiago, Chile. The summit, promoted by the public-private platform #SinDesperdicio, sought to establish an agenda of actions to accelerate the implementation of public policies to reduce the impact of food waste in the region.

The summit was attended by FAO Regional Representative Julio Berdegué and Chilean Senator Guido Girardi, among others. Berdegué said that Latin America and the Caribbean “loses 11.6 percent of food, and cereals, fruits, vegetables and fish are the food groups with the highest rates of loss from the field to the entrance door of retail markets”.

Girardi presented the food waste law he is pushing in the Chilean congress. “We are battling for a law – it has already passed the Senate and is in the Chamber of Deputies – that obliges 100% of food to be donated six days before it expires. Those who do not do so will have penalties and tax disincentives”. The senator added that “we are working on a digital platform so that the donor companies are online with the receiving and non-profit institutions”.

Next steps

At the Second Summit on Food Loss and Waste Reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean, experts warned that in view of the increase in food insecurity caused by Covid-19, it is urgent to establish policies to reduce these losses. Among the policies proposed will be to increase investment in school feeding programs. It will also seek to eliminate the cap on tax deductions to promote food donations. The FAO highlights the legislative progress of measures against food waste, with 77 bills on the subject in the region.

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