Activities of Massimo PAOLUCCI related to 2016/2223(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Resource efficiency: reducing food waste, improving food safety (debate) IT
Amendments (56)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
- having regard to the European Court of Auditors' Special Report 'Combating Food Waste: an opportunity for the EU to improve the resource- efficiency of the food supply chain' (2016),
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
Citation 16 a (new)
- having regard to the Charter of Milan adopted during the Expo Milano 2015,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the FAO estimates that each year, approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food, equal to approximately one-third, by weight, of all food produced for human consumption in the world is lost or wasted7; _________________ 7FAO, 2011. Global Food Losses and Food Waste.;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereasin view of the undertakings signed by the EU in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted at the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September 2015, and in particular since the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3 is aimed at halvingreducing by 50 % per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 20350 and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas estimates show that 88 million tonnes of food are wasted in the EU each year, equating to 173 kg of wasted food per personthe prevention of food waste brings environmental benefits and advantages in social and economic terms; whereas estimates indicate that 88 million tonnes of food are wasted in the EU each year, equating to 173 kg of wasted food per person, and that the production and disposal of the EU’s food waste produce emissions of 170 tonnes of CO2 and consume 26 million tonnes of resources; whereas the costs associated with this level of food waste are estimated to amount to around EUR 143 billion9; _________________ 9 FUSIONS, Estimates of European food waste levels, March 2016.
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the European Court of Auditors' Special Report examined the question 'Does the EU contribute to a resource-efficient food supply chain by combating food waste effectively?'; whereas the findings of the report indicate that currently the EU does not combat food waste effectively, and that existing initiatives and policies could be used more effectively to address the problem of food waste1a ; _________________ 1aEuropean Court of Auditors’ Special Report ‘Combating Food Waste: an opportunity for the EU to improve the resource-efficiency of the food supply chain’ (2016) p.44.
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas operators in the food supply chain often internalise the cost of food waste and include it in the final consumer price of the product1a ; _________________ 1aEuropean Court of Auditors’ Special Report ‘Combating Food Waste: an opportunity for the EU to improve the resource-efficiency of the food supply chain’ (2016), p. 14.
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses the importance of bringing together farmers in cooperatives or professional associations in order to reduce food losses by strengthening their knowledge of markets, allowing more efficient programming, economies of scale and improving their capacity to market their production;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas there is no common consistent definition of ‘food waste’ or ‘food surpluses’, nor a common methodology for measuring either food waste or food surpluses at Union level yet, which makes it difficult to compare different datasets and to measure progress in reducing food waste; whereas in the FUSIONS project, food waste was defined as ‘any food, and inedible parts of food, removed from the food supply chain to be recovered or disposed (including composted, crops ploughed in/not harvested, anaerobic digestion, bio-energy production, co- generation, incineration, disposal to sewer, landfill or discarded to sea)’11; _________________ 11 FUSIONS Definitional Framework for Food Waste, 3 July 2014.
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas the data from the FUSIONS project come from a number of sources and are based on the use of various definitions of ‘food waste’;
Amendment 64 #
Fa. whereas food surpluses may be recovered for use as food for humans with the appropriate incentivising policies;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. whereas monitoring not only of how much is wasted but also of how large surpluses are and the quantities of food recovered can provide a more complete picture, which could be useful in launching good policies at EU level;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the waste management hierarchy established by the Waste Framework Directive 12 (prevention, preparing for re-use, recycling, recovery and disposal) cannot be applied in full todoes not take account of the specific features of food waste; whereas currently there is no specific hierarchy for the management of unconsumed foodprevention and management of food waste at EU level; _________________ 12 Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3).
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the donation of unsold food along the entire supply chaina very low level of food surpluses is a psychological factor in the entire agri-food sector, and donating these surpluses leads to considerable reductions in food waste, while helping people in need;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas countries such as Italy haveand France have already adopted national legislation to restrict the creation of food waste, with Italy, specifically, having adopted legislation that facilitates food donation and distribution for social solidarity purposes by excluding donor liability for food that is donated in good faith and known to be fit for consumption at the time of donation;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Notes that food waste is a problem at every stage of the chain, whether it is production, processing, marketing, transport or consumption; insists therefore on the need to improve communication between all actors in the food supply chain, in particular between suppliers and distributors, in order to match supply and demand, the discrepancies of which are one of the main causes of food waste;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N b (new)
Recital N b (new)
Nb. whereas local and regional authorities have a key role to play in reducing food waste in the area of their competence; whereas actions to reduce food waste should be taken at the appropriate level;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N a (new)
Recital N a (new)
Na. whereas food which turns into waste requires a further use of resources in its management;
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that farmer-led initiatives can offer viable economic solutions and provide value for products which might otherwise go to waste, by developing markets for products that would normally be excluded from the food chain, and highlights the potential of farmer-led social innovation projects such as gleaning and donation of excess foodstuffs to food banks;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Notes that the food industry has already taken initiatives to reduce food waste by strengthening cooperation with food banks throughout Europe; notes, however, that there are still barriers to donations, mainly of legal nature; calls on the Commission to clarify the interpretation of the legal provisions discouraging donations;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls on the Commission to swiftly adopt a definition of food surpluses and food recovery;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for a coordinated policy response at EU and Member State level that takes into account policies regarding waste, food safety and information, but also aspects of economic, research and innovation, environment, financial, agriculture, education, and social, trade, consumer protection and public procurement policy;
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Points out that Regulation 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council includes among foods even water 'intentionally incorporated into the food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment' and that water is a key strategic resource for the entire agri-food industry;
Amendment 143 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Highlights the findings of the Special Report No 34 of the European Court of Auditors "Combating food waste: an opportunity for the EU to improve the use of resources in the food chain"', stressing that Commission's action regarding food waste has so far been sporadic and fragmented;
Amendment 148 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Commission to swiftly adopt a common methodology toadopt, by 31 December 2017, a common methodology, including minimum quality and quantity requirements, for the uniform measurement of food waste in the Member States and to promote the exchange of best practices within the EU, both between different Member States and between different agri-food operators;
Amendment 155 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Stresses that food wastage, depending on the quality, type and quantity of water used for food production, also involves a substantial waste of water;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Commission to swiftly adopt a common methodology to measure, including minimum quality requirements, for the uniform measurement of the levels of food waste;
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Points to the importance of improving water management in agriculture, developing 'water-smart' food production systems and increasing water and food safety and security in areas that are most at risk because of climate change;
Amendment 164 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8 d. Stresses that the agriculture sector has a key role to play in reducing food waste and notes with concern that the Commission has never conducted a study to determine the impact of the different reforms on the volume of agricultural production and its effect on food waste; calls, therefore, on the Commission to integrate the issue of food waste into the next review of the CAP;
Amendment 166 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Reiterates the importance of the 'water footprint' concept for food and feed;
Amendment 168 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 e (new)
Paragraph 8 e (new)
8 e. Stresses the importance of the new "school schemes programmes" and in particular the introduction of compulsory accompanying measures, such as the promotion of conscious food consumption in education; stresses the importance of using these accompanying measures to convey educational messages about food waste and its prevention;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for the establishment in EU legislation of a hierarchy for the management of unsold food such as: a) source prevention; b) edible food rescue, prioritizing human use over animal feed and the reprocessing into non-food products; c) organic recycling; d) energy recovery; e) disposal;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses the need to include an obligation for the Member States to annually notify the European Commission of the total level of food waste generated in a specific year;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the recent creation of the EU Platform on Food Lwhich is intended to identify priority measures to be adopted at EU level to prevent food losses and Ffood Wwaste; to that end, stresses that greater involvement of the European Parliament in the platform’s work would be desirable;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the recent creation of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste; considers that it could be the right tool for measuring not only how much is wasted but also the quantities of food surpluses and food recovery;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Welcomes the initiative taken by some large retail operators to promote schemes for making changes to prices for the sale of goods to be consumed in line with the products’ expiry dates, with a view to increasing consumer awareness and encouraging the purchase of products which are close to their expiry dates;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote consumer understanding of food waste, food safety, and good practices in relation to their management and consumption of food; stresses that these initiatives should emphasise that combating food waste brings benefits not only for the environment but also in economic and social terms;
Amendment 230 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to promote consumer understanding of how to prevent the generation of food waste, food safety, and good practices in relation to their management and consumption of food;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Stresses the need for Member States to develop and support publicity campaigns to raise the awareness of citizens and operators in the food sector with a view to encouraging the prevention of food waste; also stresses the need to promote training campaigns intended to provide education on healthy food and environmentally sustainable food production;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the Member States to include food waste-related educational messages in the accompanying measures of the school fruit and milk schemes with the aim of encouraging good eating habits in young people;
Amendment 247 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Amendment 264 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Welcomes the draft EU guidelines on food donation as a first step in the right direction; however, with a view to the various barriers to food donation contained in EU legislation, believes that the donation of unsold food along the entire food supply chain needs to be promoted further by enacting legislative changes; calls on the Commission to consider the possibility of assessing legislative measures designed to promote the donation of food products which have labelling issues, but not in cases where these issues relate to the information on the expiry date or substances or products that trigger allergies or intolerances;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Notes that food sector operators which carry out free transfers of food surpluses must abide by sound operational practices in order to guarantee food safety in terms of hygiene and health, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004;
Amendment 273 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls on the Member States to consider further schemes to encourage donation by food sector operators of food surpluses to organisations with social purposes and non-profit organisations, including through tax incentives relating to national taxation of waste;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
13e. Calls on the Commission and Member States to explore how unfair trade practices in the food supply chain generate food waste and, where necessary, take action at the appropriate level to reduce it;
Amendment 289 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 f (new)
Paragraph 13 f (new)
13f. Calls on the Commission to explore the potential of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) to help reduce food waste;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 g (new)
Paragraph 13 g (new)
13g. Calls on the Commission to complete the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) regulation with an implementing act that will regulate using intervention stocks generated under CAP and promote the use of FEAD to facilitate food donation in the context of financing the costs of collection, transport, storage and distribution; encourages local, regional and national authorities to support the setting up of food donation infrastructure in regions and areas where it is non- existent, inadequate or under capacitated;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Member States to create economic incentives for limiting food waste and to adopt specific food waste prevention programmes within their waste prevention programmes;
Amendment 310 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses that innovative and environmentally friendly solutions in areas including the management of co- and by- products of food production, food storage, digital technologies, and packaging can offer significant potential for food waste reduction; calls on the Commission, therefore, to assess increasing the use of environmentally friendly food packaging, including the feasibility of gradually replacing food packaging with bio-based and biodegradable, compostable material in accordance with European standards;
Amendment 319 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Member States to encourage the conclusion of agreements or memoranda of understanding to promote responsible conduct and good practices designed to reduce food waste, including equipping catering operators with reusable containers, made of recyclable material, to enable customers to take home their leftover food;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to allocate adequate funds to innovative projects, including projects relating to research and technological development in the sphere of the shelf life of food products and packaging materials;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15c. Stresses the fact that developments in the digital sector offer many opportunities for preventing the generation of food waste, in particular the creation of online ‘food rescue’ platforms, which make it possible for the catering sector to offer unsold dishes at reduced prices; highlights the fact that experiments such as these have produced significant results in the Member States in which they have been developed;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 d (new)
Paragraph 15 d (new)
15d. Stresses that more effective European legislation on by-products in Directive 2008/98/EC could help to significantly reduce food waste; to that end, calls on the European Commission to support, particularly through the Horizon 2020 programme, projects designed to facilitate synergies between agriculture and industry that involve agri-food companies;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 e (new)
Paragraph 15 e (new)
15e. Notes that preventing the generation of food waste is the priority measure to be pursued, when correctly managing waste in line with the principles of the circular economy; stresses, however, that at the moment it is impossible to bring generation of food waste down to zero; considers that it is necessary, therefore, to lay down mandatory EU measures to ensure that food waste can be turned into new resources; considers, specifically, that, with a view to ensuring a high level of environmental protection and an output, including digestate and compost, with high quality standards, the Member States should encourage home composting and should separate out bio-waste at source, and ensure that this waste is subject to bio-recycling; considers that the Member States should also prohibit the placing of bio-waste in landfills;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 f (new)
Paragraph 15 f (new)
15f. Stresses that food waste reduction objectives must be consistent with the measures and objectives in Directive 94/62/EC and, in particular, the need for the Member States to take measures to achieve a significant reduction in the consumption of non-recyclable packaging and in overpackaging;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 g (new)
Paragraph 15 g (new)
15g. Reiterates the need for the Commission to adopt, by 31 December 2018, horizontal regulatory measures in the sustainable consumption and production sector, and to draft an impact report to identify the regulations whose interaction is acting as a barrier to the development of synergies between sectors, including the agri-food sector, and is hindering the use of by-products;