Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 18 October 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Challenges Facing the Fruit and Vegetable Industry: Discussion (Resumed)

Ms Angela Robinson:

That is where the national food waste roadmap comes in. We are trying to achieve that target and see how best we can measure that in the step approach. There is a list of actions: how we deal with food waste aggregation; food donation and distribution; extending the food waste charter, which has been relaunched to include the key sectors in the supply chain; research and innovation, which is key; green public procurement; sustained communication; raising education and awareness about the targets we are all trying to achieve; and then putting in place a monitoring and evaluation framework in respect of those targets. Through the food charter, retailers, primary producers and all those along the agricultural food supply chain are committing. It is up to them. The food charter requires them to make a commitment to say that they will reduce their food waste and food loss by a certain percentage and that will be monitored on a yearly basis.