Around 100 million tonnes of food end up as waste annually in Europe.

Expiration dates are the reason waste mountains continue to pile up, states a group of EU Ministers of Agriculture. The group does not include all the Ministers of Agriculture within the EU.

Food waste has become a hot topic of debate due to its humanitarian and environmental effects. According to a report form last year, approximately half of manufactured food around the globe end up in the trash due to either poor harvesting, storing or transportation means, as well as irresponsibility on the part of retailers and consumers.

Reuters reports that the memo by Holland and Sweden states that expiration dates used in many EU countries perpetuate the problem. Reuters has received the memo for viewing.

The memo reveals the countries’ wish for EU to consider releasing long-term products from their expiration dates. The memo by Holland and Sweden also expresses the wish for EU decision-makers to attempt to increase people’s knowledge on differences in products’ working lives.

Suggestions in the memo are supported by Austria, Denmark, Germany and Luxemburg.

“Reducing food waste is closely related to the principle, according to which every person is entitled to adequate access to food,” a statement in the memo outlines.

According to the European Commission approximately 100 tonnes of food end up as waste annually in Europe. The report published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers states that 30-50 per cent of food from supermarket shelves end up in the trash. The report lays the blame for this on expiration dates and a poor understanding of them.

Helsinki Times