Providing marketing solutions to prevent and reduce the food waste related to marketing standards

Food marketing standards are standards individuals and businesses comply with to be able to put food on the market or to sell to a particular buyer. These standards include or may include requirements about technical definitions, classification, presentation, marking and labelling, packaging, production method, conservation, storage, transport related administrative documents, certifications and time limits, restriction of use and disposal, …

As these standards focus on quality, they are different from food safety standards (foods that do not comply with marketing standards can still be safe to eat).

The marketing standards applied to food marketed in the EU exist at different levels and in different forms:

• International standards[[ E.g. the United Nations Economic commission for Europe (UNECE) standards, the Codex Alimentarius standards, or international guidelines such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) schemes. These standards serve or may serve as a basis for standards adopted at EU or national level or for private standards.]].
• EU marketing standards, contained in the Common Market Organisation (CMO) Regulation, the CMO secondary legislation and the “Breakfast Directives”.
• National marketing standards set up by governments of Member States
• Private marketing standards.

Proposals should address all the following points:

• Provide estimates of the amounts of food waste resulting from the application of the above-mentioned marketing standards along the food supply chain. In particular, estimates of the amounts of food waste due to interactions between the stages and actors of the value chain should be provided. These estimates should be differentiated according to the responsible marketing standard(s).
• Assess trade-offs between food waste prevention/reduction objectives and other objectives pursued by marketing standards (e.g. keeping food of unsatisfactory quality off the market, providing clarity and transparency on the market, facilitating the functioning of the internal market; responding to consumers’ and society’s expectations).
• Assess the underlying reasons for setting up private marketing standards, including aspects related to consumers expectations.
• Identify solutions that would enable to improve the business potential for suboptimal foods not meeting market standards yet still safe to eat. This should include the identification of alternative marketing channels or models (including processing and other destinations), whilst ensuring the highest possible value for their valorisation and considering trade-offs between the different valorisation options. The most promising interventions and good practices already in place for similar foods or food categories should be considered.
• Provide recommendations/solutions to food businesses, owners of marketing standards and regulators on how to prevent/reduce food waste due to marketing standards.
• Some recommendations may help design marketing standards or support future policy development, in order to prevent and reduce food waste.
• Implement the multi-actor approach (see eligibility conditions) by conducting inter- and trans-disciplinary research and involving a wide range of food system actors.

The proposal activities should be performed at least for fruits and vegetables. Applicants may choose to cover additional commodities from the following food types: cereals, fish, meat, dairy and eggs.

The proposal activities should be performed across several Member States, in different parts of the EU.

Proposals should build on past or ongoing research projects and ensure synergy with relevant initiatives, including the Commission’s EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste[[ https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food-waste/eu-actions-against-food-waste/eu-platform-food-losses-and-food-waste_en]] and the evaluations already carried out by the European Commission in view of the revision of EU marketing standards and date marking rules. Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with other projects funded under this topic and any other relevant topic, e.g. by participating in joint activities, workshops, etc. Selected proposals under this topic will thus need to work together and adapt their initial work plan. Communication and dissemination activities should also be grouped and coordinated in a complementary manner.

Social innovation is recommended when the solution is at the socio-technical interface and requires social change, new social practices, social ownership or market uptake.

This topic requires the effective contribution of SSH.