29 September 2025 — International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste
Food waste is not just “what we throw away at home.” It happens, at different scales, throughout the agri-food chain, from production in the field to wholesale distribution, retail, food service, and finally our kitchens. In systems with robust cold chains and logistics, most waste tends to occur at the consumer end; where those solutions are less available, a larger share is lost earlier in the chain. ToNoWaste (TONOWASTE) exists to measure these realities, prevent them, and turn awareness into action.
At the heart of the project is an impact-assessment methodology created by SOGRES at the Universitat Jaume I (UJI). We have tested it with recognised pilot partners that cover every stage of the chain—FCACV (primary production), Mercavalencia (wholesale distribution), Eroski (large-scale retail), and CUINATUR (school catering/HORECA)—to pinpoint where and why food is lost or wasted and to implement targeted improvements and controls.
Beyond measurement, ToNoWaste builds capacity across society. We share short knowledge videos and deliver outreach with secondary schools, university students, and senior associations. We’re also nurturing innovation through a pilot acceleration programme for startups focused on loss and waste prevention, run with the City of València and Valencia Innovation Capital, and we recently celebrated the Agrolab ToNoWaste Awards. Our consortium is collaborative and international: alongside UJI (coordination), Spanish partners include ESIC and Deusto; internationally we work with Wageningen University, the University of Oslo, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, municipal authorities in Greece and Sweden, and several Austrian entities.
This work aligns with Spain’s new food-waste framework, published in April 2025, which requires certain companies to quantify their losses and put prevention and management procedures in place. ToNoWaste offers practical tools to comply, while improving efficiency, saving money, and reducing environmental impacts.
Ten minutes to make a difference at home
- Check fridge and pantry: bring forward anything that will expire in the next 2–3 days and create an “eat-me-first” spot.
- Plan two meals around those items (today and tomorrow).
- Shop with a list and avoid “deals” that lead to overbuying.
- Know your labels: “use by” = may be unsafe after the date; “best before” = still safe but quality may decline—consume soon.
“As soon as organisations and families can see where waste happens, they can act,” notes Maria Jesús Muñoz, coordinator of ToNoWaste. “Measure, then improve, that’s how prevention becomes routine.”
Together—with evidence, innovation, and action—ToNoWaste is helping turn the field-to-fork journey into a field-to-plate reality.