On December 2, 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a draft national strategy for reducing food loss and waste and recycling organics. The strategy outlines actions that “will help the United States meet its National Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal to halve food loss and waste by 2030 and contribute to achieving the National Recycling Goal to achieve a 50% recycling rate by 2030,” as well as UN Sustainable Development Goals. The four main objectives are to (i) prevent the loss of food where possible, (ii) prevent the waste of food where possible, (iii) increase the recycling rate for all organic produce, and (iv) support policies that incentivize and encourage food loss and waste prevention and organics recycling.
Food “loss” is the term used for edible products leaving the production half of the supply chain – during farming, processing, or distribution – while “waste” is the term used on the consumer side – in retail, food service, or household.
Specific mentions of food packaging within the proposal include:
- Concerns about packaging contamination in organic waste streams “especially with plastic packaging and persistent chemicals”,
- USDA’s continued investment in “innovative manufacturing technologies” including nanotechnology “to extend shelf life and prevent food loss and waste”,
- USDA “will research food packaging materials from biobased and renewable sourced polymers …[to] protect and enhance food products, eliminate or reduce pathogens, address antimicrobial resistance, extend shelf-life, and reduce food waste and reliance on fossil-fuel-based packaging”, and
- Partnering with the private sector to find upstream solutions. “For example, successful efforts in other countries have included changes in packaging design…”
Concerns about biodegradable plastics and persistent chemicals in organic waste, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is something that the Food Packaging Forum has mentioned in multiple policy comments in the last year including for the EPA’s draft national strategy to prevent plastic pollution (FPF reported) and the EU’s PFAS restriction proposal (FPF reported).
The US draft food loss and waste strategy is open for public comment through January 4, 2024. The agencies expect to begin implementation in 2024.
References
EPA, USDA, and FDA (December 2, 2023). “Draft national strategy for reducing food loss and waste and recycling organics.” US EPA (pdf).
EPA (December 2, 2023). “Summary of the draft strategy.”
EPA (December 2, 2023). “Biden-Harris Administration releases Draft National Strategy to Reduce Food Loss and Waste.”
USDA (December 2, 2023). “Summary of the draft strategy.”
Read more
EPA, USDA, and FDA (December 5, 2023). “Draft national strategy for reducing food loss and waste and recycling organics – comment page.” Regulations.gov
