29 September marks the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, a global reminder that preventing food from being lost or wasted is not only an environmental challenge, but also a social and economic one.
This year, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is placing the spotlight on the “Transformative Potential of Reducing Food Loss and Waste”. The message is clear: reducing food loss and waste can support food security and nutrition, ease pressure on natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions, and contribute to greater productivity and economic development.
These challenges have been at the heart of TONOWASTE since the project began.
TONOWASTE works to help farmers, food supply-chain actors, consumers and policymakers make better-informed decisions about food waste prevention and reduction. Through science-based assessment, real-world pilots, digital tools and collaboration with stakeholders, the project has explored how food waste can be understood, measured and prevented across different parts of the food system.
Turning research into practical knowledge
As TONOWASTE approaches the final stage of the project, one of its most visible results is a collection of 92 Practice Abstracts.
These short, accessible resources capture research findings, pilot experiences and lessons learned throughout the project. Rather than leaving knowledge within technical reports or scientific publications, the Practice Abstracts translate TONOWASTE’s work into information that farmers, food businesses, public authorities, educators, researchers and citizens can more easily understand and use.
Together, they cover a broad range of areas, including food supply chains, consumer behaviour, environmental and socioeconomic assessment, education, technological solutions, redistribution and stakeholder engagement.
They also reflect the evolution of the project itself: from understanding where food loss and waste occurs and why, to testing solutions in real environments and developing approaches that others can adapt.
From measuring food waste to preventing it
Effective action begins with understanding the problem.
TONOWASTE has explored methods for identifying critical points where food is lost or wasted and for assessing prevention and reduction measures from different sustainability perspectives.
The project has worked on environmental footprint approaches and multi-criteria decision-making methods, helping move beyond assessments based on a single indicator. Digital tools have also played a role. The Food Supply Chain application, for example, has been adapted within TONOWASTE to support organisations in quantifying, monitoring and improving their management of food loss and waste.
This evidence-based approach reflects one of TONOWASTE’s central objectives: providing actors across the food system with more integrated and standardised information so that decisions about food waste prevention can consider environmental, economic and social impacts together.
Testing solutions in real environments
TONOWASTE has also taken this work beyond research by testing approaches in real food systems.
Pilot activities have covered settings ranging from supermarkets and wholesale markets to community kitchens, educational environments and fruit and vegetable supply chains. They have explored not only how food waste can be measured, but also how businesses, public organisations and communities can take action to prevent it.
At Mercavalència, for example, project experience has been transformed into guidance to help fruit and vegetable wholesalers prepare Food Loss and Waste Prevention Plans. The approach includes mapping processes, identifying critical points, setting measurable objectives, planning actions, training staff and monitoring progress.
A complementary technological solution supports the recovery of food that can no longer be sold but may still be suitable for human consumption, helping connect wholesalers with social organisations while recording and monitoring recovered food.
The project has also worked directly with citizens and professionals. Participatory activities in Valencia brought together students, members of the public and agri-food professionals to discuss the causes and consequences of food waste and co-create possible responses. One round of activities involved 91 participants.
Education and behaviour matter too
Technology and measurement alone cannot solve food waste.
TONOWASTE has therefore also explored the human side of the challenge: how people understand food waste, how they make decisions and how awareness and education can influence behaviour.
A dedicated series of Practice Abstracts provides guidance on designing, organising, implementing and evaluating food-waste awareness activities in public educational centres. Other project results address communication with different audiences, including citizens and professionals in the HORECA sector.
These experiences underline an important lesson from the project: reducing food waste requires participation across the whole food system.
A shared challenge that requires shared action
According to FAO, around 13% of food produced globally is lost after harvest and before reaching retail. At the same time, updated estimates indicate that 19% of food available to consumers — around 1.05 billion tonnes — is wasted at retail, in food services and in households. Around 60% of this consumer-level food waste occurs in households.
The scale of the challenge explains why the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste calls for action from producers, businesses, researchers, public authorities, civil society and consumers alike.
TONOWASTE contributes to that effort by turning research into evidence, testing solutions in practice and making the resulting knowledge available for others to use.
The project’s 92 Practice Abstracts offer a record of that journey — from understanding the complexity of food loss and waste to developing tools, methods and practical approaches that can support action beyond the lifetime of the project.
On this International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, the message is not only that food loss and waste must be reduced.
It is that we increasingly know more about how to do it, and that this knowledge needs to be shared, adapted and put into practice.
Explore TONOWASTE’s results and 92 Practice Abstracts: www.tonowaste.eu/results/