The government praises the work of brand restoration to end food waste

The Secretary General for Agricultural Resources and Food Safety at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Ana Rodríguez Castaño, recently highlighted at the European Parliament in Madrid that, outside the home, Spaniards will spend a total of €35.872 billion in 2024, which amounts to some 3,845 kg/liters of food. Since 2016, we have continued to waste food, although “we have managed to throw away less food, around 206 million kg less.” 

As things stand, the catering sector has been prepared for some time, which is very reassuring “as it is everyone's responsibility.” The big challenge is to raise awareness of the efforts that are being made, given that waste comes mainly from households. The implementation, since April this year, of the Law on the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste will generate benefits for businesses and consumers, “with this law, we all win.”

For her part, Ana Díaz Pérez, Deputy Director General of Food Quality and Sustainability at the Ministry of Agriculture, has reiterated that the restaurant sector has been “doing its homework” for some time now, in line with its commitment to combating food waste. Knowing that almost all brands have prevention plans in place prior to the entry into force of the aforementioned law, the new framework directive regulating waste will improve the figures. “The brand sector has been implementing its own measures to tackle this scourge for years, but combining the synergies of the different players is essential if we want to achieve zero waste,” Díaz Pérez pointed out.

As things stand, all EU countries produce around 60 million tons of food waste, equivalent to 133 kg per inhabitant per year. The truth is that we are becoming less and less embarrassed to ask for a doggy bag in a restaurant, and there is an increasing connection between the tomato that leaves the greenhouse and the one that ends up on our plate. Well, we consume less, but we spend more. We must therefore highlight the efforts being made to reduce food waste, as indicated by the study carried out by Too Good To Go, entitled: "The catering sector's commitment to food waste: a consumer perspective", presented at the aforementioned European Parliament headquarters, which shows that 56% of consumers believe that the sector does not give enough visibility to what it is doing in this regard.

Forty percent recognize actions such as the use of Tupperware for leftover food, and 85% of those surveyed say that a restaurant's commitment to waste influences their choice, while 41% would switch to a restaurant with active policies and 51% would do so if the offer is similar. As for the main culprits, restaurants are perceived as the second most significant contributor to food waste (72%), behind supermarkets (76%) and ahead of hotels (52%), households (30%), and agricultural and livestock production (8%). This contrasts with the latest Eurostat data, which suggests that the largest volume of waste occurs in households, followed by primary production, manufacturing, distribution, and, lastly, restaurants. 

A significant gap between consumer perception and reality

In this context, Adriana Bonezzi, general manager of Marcas de Restauración, has emphasized the importance of publicizing these initiatives, which are key to helping consumers identify the possibilities offered by the sector: “The branded restaurant sector has been making progress for years with concrete measures to reduce food waste, optimizing processes, collaborating with social entities, and using technological tools that enable more efficient management.”

For her part, Marie Lindström, general manager of Too Good To Go in Spain, stressed that “the restaurant sector has proven to be one of the most committed to the fight against food waste. Therefore, highlighting these efforts and leading by example reinforces consumer confidence and the sector's commitment.”

Finally, the conference included various round tables that addressed the adaptation of companies to the new legal framework, cases of public-private collaboration, and the national and European regulatory perspective. These round tables featured the participation of Álvaro Bonilla, Operations & Business Analyst at SSP; Lorena Alcázar, Brand Director at Santagloria; and Teresa Sancho, QA Manager Iberia at KFC. They discussed the role of innovation and technology in improving operational efficiency, as well as the need to communicate and raise consumer awareness, breaking down prejudices and reinforcing the value of responsible and sustainable food management.

Ana Torroba, ASG and Corporate Communications Director at ALSEA, the group responsible for brands such as Vips, Ginos, and Domino's, among others, shared the group's actions and strategies to reduce food waste, from production to its establishments, having already saved more than 350,000 food packs.