Food waste: three quarters of goods end up in the trash!

Food waste: three quarters of goods end up in the trash!

Food waste in Germany remains alarmingly high. According to a recent report by the Thünen Institute on the Pact Against Food Waste, published last week, more than three quarters of unsold food was disposed of as waste in 2023. Of the total of 1.7 percent that were sorted out as no longer sellable, only 24 percent went to those in need or were used as animal feed. The Federal Managing Director of German Environmental Aid, Sascha Müller-Kraenner, expressed concerns about the unreliable data and called for better traceability of food waste in order to increase transparency frisches-flensburg.de reported.

Progress in the fight against waste

However, there are positive developments: compared to the previous year, a general reduction in food waste of 24 percent was noted Thünen Institute reported. The 14 major food companies that committed to the pact in summer 2023 are implementing measures to reduce their waste by 30 percent by 2025 and by 50 percent by 2030. Half of the companies have already achieved a goal that requires 90 percent of their locations to pass on food in collaboration with aid organizations.

However, the challenge remains great. Manuela Kuntscher from the Thünen Institute emphasizes that progress is uneven and that some companies are doing better than others. In the future, the focus will be on taking further measures and consolidating the successes achieved.