Food waste represents a market failure, an environmental failure, and, most urgently, a failure for people: while large quantities of food are discarded, up to 783 million people face hunger every year.
Many food waste prevention and reduction initiatives are implemented at the city level, as municipalities often hold the authority to oversee these issues. However, since food waste is a multifaceted problem spanning various sectors and governance levels, a multilevel and multi-stakeholder governance approach is essential, posing significant challenges.
In this context, on October 8th, 2024, CEMAS and EUFIC organized an international workshop in València to address cities’ capacity for action in preventing and reducing food waste. The event featured keynote speeches, expert panels, and participatory workshops. Representatives from over 10 European cities, several city networks, the European Commission, and the UN Department of Economic Affairs participated. Additionally, participating cities presented posters showcasing their initiatives.
The workshop aimed to foster the exchange of experiences and knowledge among European cities on public policies and initiatives to prevent and reduce food loss and waste. It also sought to create a dialogue space for cities to address capacity-building, challenges, difficulties, and potential success factors.
Videos of the workshop, as well as posters and workshop conclusions, are available on the CEMAS website.

In the standardisation and packaging phase of the fruit and vegetable sector, the selection operation represents a significant critical point in the loss of foodstuffs. In its factories, the selection process begins at the packaging stage. 
This involves the removal from the main flow line of units that present superficial defects (known as 'ugly fruit') despite meeting the minimum requirements of the marketing standard.
The Standard sets out the external quality conditions and their tolerances and includes factors that determine the minimum requirements to be met in order to guarantee the correct state of maturity and, therefore, organoleptic quality.
In the case of citrus fruits, three parameters are specified: 
•    minimum juice content;
•    minimum sugar/acid ratio;
•    colouring: typical colour of the variety.
The standard stipulates minimum values to be met by the fruit in order for it to be considered marketable, with these values varying depending on the type of citrus fruit in question. The following graph, the output of the cooperative of Pobla de Vallbona (Valencia, Spain) and the CACV, illustrates the outcomes of the regulatory quantitative analyses conducted on diverse citrus fruits, including oranges, clementines, and other mandarin varieties. The graph depicts the internal quality parameters that were subjected to special scrutiny. The three parameters were analysed for Class I fruits and compared with those obtained for fruits that have been withdrawn from the production line on the account of being deemed 'ugly fruit'.
It can be concluded that there is no justification, in terms of the quality parameters analysed, for the inclusion of 'ugly fruit' in the overall food loss of the fruit and vegetable plant.

This research is being conducted as a master’s thesis for the fulfillment of the Joint International Master’s Programme in Sustainable Development at the University of Graz, Austria. Specifically, this research is a case study on Austrian households that seeks to evaluate to what extent message processing variables and attitudes towards food waste have an influence on household’s behavioral intentions towards food waste prevention and reduction (FWPR). These message processing variables include self-reported levels of environmental knowledge and concern, as well as perceived benefit and effectiveness of one’s pro-environmental actions. This research applies the framework of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasion which theorizes that the way individuals process and understand information can be indicative to whether a change in attitude may occur. This research also applies the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which is a widely used framework to investigate and explain food waste behavior. Data from this research was collected using LimeSurvey, an online survey tool provided by the University of Graz. 
The findings of this research aim to contribute to the growing knowledge on food waste behavior, as well as developing strategies that lead to sustained FWPR behavioral change. Concretely, as part of the ToNoWaste project landscape, this research is being conducted in collaboration with Zero Waste Austria and will contribute to informing the design of future FWPR interventions and actions. 
This research is currently in the phase of data analysis and will be completed before the end of 2024.

Surplus food, which is avoidably or unavoidably generated in the food supply chain, should be used for human consumption according to the food resources management hierarchy. Surpluses of eatable and edible material may be used in two possible ways, food redistribution and food upcycling. Some of the by- product materials of the food and beverages manufacturing processes have significant nutritional and functional value and are edible, but not eatable.  Brewers' spent grain (BSG) or brewery’ s spent grain, a major by-product of the brewing industry, constitutes such a by -product.  Spent grain is quite rich in protein (20%) and fiber (70%) on dry basis, and is produced abundantly; on the average 20% of BSG is produced per 100L beer, amounting to approximately 31% of the original malt mass. The Food Loss and Waste Prevention Unit of the Municipality of Halandri has identified the importance to assist a local brewery in the fight against wasting useful resources during its research on food waste hotspots. The “Anastasiou” brewery is the first microbrewery of Greece located at the heart of the centre of Halandri.  The Food Loss and Waste Prevention Unit of the Municipality of Halandri concluded that BSG could be upcycled to new food for human consumption. In collaboration with the local brewery, two local HORECA businesses and the Department of Chemical Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens the feasibility of the use of the grains as a raw material for bakery products production has been explored. On April 2024 the spent grain was used to replace flour for the production of cookies and bread that were tested by the public on two occasions (living labs), demonstrating an upcycling practice which is the result of B2B collaboration. 

 It is estimated that massive catering of institutions such as hospitals, military units and schools, generates significant amounts of food waste. The generation of food waste during free school meals in Greek primary schools was examined by direct weighing for 5 consecutive days in two primary schools of the Municipality of Halandri in December 2023. Measurements were conducted in two out of the four schools of Halandri that provide free school meals to the pupils that register for the specific service. A supplier, that is subcontracted from the Greek Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, provides daily a sealed portion of food per student along with siders and a fruit. The menu is designed according to the national nutritional guide. The study quantified the food that is distributed to be consumed in school by children that stay until late (all day school) and the take- αway portion, that means the food taken away from the pupils who leave at midday. Validation and quantification of waste was feasible regarding consumption in school only. The individuals' behavior after leaving school was not monitored as its determination requires additional resources and may only be based on self-reporting. The study findings show that the net weight of food distributed in the two schools was on the average 128 kg/ day. Of it, 52% was distributed to children who stay only until midday (taken away) and 48% was distributed to children who stay all day. Of this 48%, the 31% of food portions were opened to be consumed, whereas the 17% were not opened. 26% of the opened portions ended up as waste although it was all edible food. There is a multitude of reasons why this occurs, the main one being the rather unsatisfying taste and texture of the dishes. It remains uncertain what happens to almost half of the supplied school meals that are taken away. The very low food quantity that is actually consumed in the schools leaves little space for optimism. 

Completed steps in the ToNoWaste project are reported on the website Results - ToNoWaste under "Deliverables". A bit down the same page, short summaries of the practical work conducted under the heading "Practice abstracts" are presented. One of HUFB's "Practice abstracts" is about the project's stakeholders in Hälsingland PA12-SmallMunicipalities_SW - ToNoWaste.  Another about how information about the ToNoWaste project spread  PA25-Dissemination_SWE - ToNoWaste
The ToNoWaste project is arranging an interdisciplinary "Winter School" in Valencia on 24–26 February. Target groups are students at all levels, researchers, junior professionals, practitioners in small and medium-sized enterprises and industry, NGOs and actors along the entire food value chain. A "summer school" will also be arranged in Vienna/Graz in 2025.
In the ToNoWaste project, several practical sub-projects, "Pilot Actions", are underway. HUFB's contribution is a collaboration between the Small scale Farmers Education (Small Farms | Hälsingland Education Association (hufb.se)), and Björs, the potato farmer. Local radio has made a report. Järvsö potatoes in focus as Europe aims to reduce food waste - P4 Gävleborg | Swedish Radio.
We now have a "roll up" on the TNW project, which shows that households are responsible for most food waste in Europe. 
Upcoming activities
An "Open Learning Lab" is planned together with the Restaurant and Food Programme (HUFB) and HUFB's Executive Board.
An event with potatoes in focus is planned by HUFB where, among other things, students and potato farmer discuss solutions for reducing food waste in potato production.

With the help of Tecnalia, EROSKI pilot project focuses on developing a cutting-edge system for inspecting the quality of fresh produce, like potatoes, using advanced technologies such as X-ray, hyperspectral imaging, and near-infrared. These technologies allow for a deeper and more precise assessment of the internal and external qualities of the produce. The system combines AI-based algorithms to evaluate potential defects, seasonal variations, and overall quality, providing an efficient solution for grading fresh produce.
Farmers and distribution platforms will gain access to an automated inspection tool that ensures consistent quality control, reducing manual errors and improving efficiency. By integrating AI and advanced imaging, the system can detect hidden defects or variations that might be missed by the human eye, leading to higher-quality products reaching the market. Additionally, this system will help streamline the inspection process, potentially increasing throughput and reducing costs associated with quality checks.
Implementing this system offers significant benefits for farmers and processors, including improved productivity, reduced waste, and enhanced consumer satisfaction due to better-quality produce. The automated inspection system can also help farmers make more informed decisions about harvest timing and storage management, leading to less product loss and optimized operations. By adopting this technology, end-users can stay competitive in a market that increasingly demands high-quality, defect-free produce.

In order to reach as many people as possible in the project countries, project partner akaryon developed an app for collecting data from end consumers. The special feature: the partners planning activities with end consumers can adapt the surveys to their needs. On the one hand to adapt the language, on the other hand to flexibly design the questions depending on the intervention carried out.
ToNoWaste wants to learn more about the skills, possibilities and motivation of the participants. In addition, they collect and weigh the leftover fruit and vegetables over a certain period of time. 
The data is anonymised and later transmitted to the ToNoWaste platform, where key figures are calculated. 
The complexity of the app results not only from its multilingualism and flexible question design, but also from the fact that the questionnaire is available to end consumers in the app at fixed, predetermined times. Once before an intervention, once immediately afterwards and a third time after a month.
The end users are divided into three groups. A control group with a questionnaire only; an action group A, which experiences the intervention and an action group B, which also receives information on how much food was saved between the first and second round.
The app was used by project partner Caritas in spring and summer 2024, other partners will follow in autumn 2024.

Caritas Vienna held a cooking workshop on 8th August 2024, as part of their pilot action to combat food waste, particularly focusing on fresh fruits and vegetables. The workshop took place at the community kitchen of Caritas Community Cooking in Vienna's 10th district. Launched in spring 2023, this pilot began with planning, networking, and training the community kitchen staff, who have been leading the workshops since May 2024.

The lot action has reached a diverse group, including people from vulnerable backgrounds, such as migrants and refugees, with 88 participants so far attending five workshops in German, English, and Arabic. The workshop on the 8th of August had 16 attendees, all employees from akaryon, a partner in the ToNoWaste project. Their participation was aimed at evaluating the ToNoWaste app, which participants use to survey their food waste prevention and reduction (FWPR) habits before and after the workshops.

During the workshop, participants learned about FWPR techniques, grocery shopping, food storage, and preservation methods, and gained practical cooking skills. They prepared dishes like avocado pasta, vegetable soup, and smoothies using food donated by Caritas' Le+O food bank and some bought from a grocery store. Leftovers were shared among the participants. Caritas Vienna plans more workshops in autumn 2024, in Ukrainian and German. Finally, Survey data will assess the workshops' impact on promoting FWPR.

MICE Tourism  is one of the key segments in the tourism industry, as stated by the UNWTO, which supports the importance of promoting socially responsible behavior at meetings venues Moreover, considering that caterings are one of the key points in the celebration of major events, it is essential to ensure proper nutrition, food safety and prevention of food waste in this area.
For this reason, the València Conference Center has considered necessary, to address catering advanced sustainable management at its events, the advice of the València World Center for Sustainable Urban Food (CEMAS), the University of Valencia, the Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research (IVIA) and the Fundació Lluís Alcanyís, as the support of the catering service company, Gourmet Catering and Events. 
The results of the study include: the validation of a protocol for measuring food waste; the drafting of improving proposals to reduce and prevent food waste ; systematic review of the nutritional footprint index  (its conclusions have been published in the journal Foods-MDPI*); and an energy-nutritional evaluation of the most popular menus. 
This work represents a first step towards the reduction of food waste in the MICE Tourism, as well as the involvement of all actors in the process, elaborating action lines for its reduction. It also generates a valid model whose dynamics can be extrapolated to other sectors.

The pilot consists of analyzing the critical points of the distribution chain of a school canteen that begins when the order is placed with the supplier and continues until the product leaves the kitchen to be served on the table.
Two school kitchens have been selected according various factors such as the distance from the Cuinatur logistics center where the products are received and picking is done, or the storage capacity in adequate refrigeration conditions of the receiving kitchens. 
School 1 is located further away from the logistics warehouse and requires a second intermediate storage point. It also has worse kitchen infrastructure for cold storage. The waste generated before and after correcting refrigeration deficiencies and improving transportation by eliminating the intermediate storage point will be measured.
Two fresh foods have been selected, a vegetable consumed daily raw such as lettuce and fruit with high conservation and handling requirements such as pear.
Different interventions and measurements will be carried out in each of the following PHASES:

1.-Order preparation 
Analysis of the data recorded in the computer program: quantities initially collected in the program, the adjustments made by the kitchen staff and the order history.
2.-Picking suppliers 
- Product input weighing.
- Destruction weighing at the time of picking based on Cuinatur selection criteria.
- Exit weighing (load loaded onto the truck). Entry and exit dates will be noted weekly.
3.-Internal transport and conservation
- Measurement of the time from warehouse 1 to warehouse 2 (gps tracker)
- Temperature record of arrival at warehouse 2 (pendrive data logger cold chain).
- Recording of product residence time and temperature evolution in warehouse 2. (Data logger Cold chain pendrive)
4.-Transportation to school
- Recording of delivery times and temperature evolution from warehouse 1 and 2 to the schools (gps+pendrive).
The vehicles are not refrigerated.
5.-Reception in the kitchen

The Tonowaste project aims to provide a quantitative evaluation method of solutions for the prevention and reduction of food waste, as well as their performance from the triple perspective of sustainability, environmental, social, and economic.
The case of 1 kg of oranges produced and consumed fresh in the EU has been developed as an example, along with the case of transforming this kilogram into packaged and refrigerated fresh juice. (see table 1)
The result of its evaluation according to the previously mentioned method, Environmental Footprint (EU), indicates that the loss and waste of either of the two studied products, both fresh and processed, cause an environmental impact that is mainly manifested in the 'Water use' category, 58.13 μPt for the fresh product and 58.55 μPt for the processed product, followed at a considerable distance by 'Climate change,' 4.19 μPt and 4.61 μPt, respectively.
Thus, it highlights the importance of considering all the impact categories of the Environmental Footprint of the European Commission in the environmental impact analysis.
The solution evaluation process will consider the quantitative reduction of waste along with the sustainability analysis. In the case of the environmental perspective, the information provided by the Environmental Footprint also allows for a weighted determination of the impact categories most affected by the action, enabling informed decision-making accordingly.
By knowing the quantification of the reduction action along with information related to its sustainability, stakeholders in the supply chain can plan, implement, and evaluate the best strategies concerning policies for the prevention and reduction of food loss and waste.

Generally, the environmental consequences associated with food loss and waste are related to global warming and are reflected in the impact category 'climate change,' expressed as emissions in kg of CO2 eq.
The initial conclusions of the Tonowaste project demonstrate the need to modify this limited perspective of the problem and consider a more systemic environmental assessment.
In line with the objective of the project and after the pertinent analyses, the application of the environmental footprint (EF) has been selected as the method for evaluating the environmental impact of these solutions, according to the recommendation (EU) 2021/2279 of the Commission (December 15, 2021).
Its use as an evaluation method, along with the bibliography published by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), demonstrates the importance of communicating to producers, consumers, and EU decision-makers that the environmental repercussions of food loss and waste and their solutions are not only manifested in climate change but that there are other impact categories that are even more affected than this one.
It is important to remember that food comes from agriculture, livestock, and fisheries, and their transformations, and that one of the basic factors in their production is the consumption of fresh water, either for irrigation or for livestock drinking.
Thus, Tonowaste proposes the publication of the environmental results of the sustainability analyses of the solutions, strategies, and prevention policies in accordance with the methodology recommended by the EU Commission (EF). Its use allows for highlighting the relative importance of each of the impact categories on a weighted total impact.

Zero Waste Austria decided to combine former expertise and experience in holding school workshops with a unique experience in reducing food waste to collect data for the ToNoWaste project and by that encourage behavior change in households.
The Zero Waste Cooking goes School pilot action involves creating an educational workshop aimed at reducing food waste at the consumer level. Targeting students aged 15 to 18 and their parents, the initiative seeks to address numerous inquiries from schools about food waste prevention and educate future consumers on minimizing food waste. The program includes measuring food waste and loss before and after the workshops to assess their effectiveness. By teaching practical solutions for reducing household food waste, the project aims to promote responsible food resource management among pupils and their families.
The workshops will take place in Vienna in summer 2025 in at least six different classes. While the workshop will be held for the pupils only, the idea is to include the respective parents by holding information evenings and providing additional informational materials for the whole family. 

Globally, ≈ 1/3 of food is wasted – 14 % from harvest to retail (worth ≈USD 400 billion), 17 % at the retail and consumer levels. Fruits and vegetables have the highest share (32 %), followed by animal products (≈ 13 %).  On average, a person produces 74 kg of food waste / year.  Food loss and waste account for 8–10 % of the world's GHG emissions.  Figures vary based on region and the group considered. Let's examine Austria's consumer and retail data:
Consumer level 
Austrian households generate about 133 kg of avoidable food waste / year, valued at € 250–800. The main contributors are bread, sweets, and pastries (28 %), followed by fruits and vegetables (27 %), and diverse animal products (23 %).  In Vienna, the daily discarded bread equals the daily consumption of Austria’s second-largest city, Graz. 
Retail 
An amendment to the Austrian Waste Management Act  obligates large food retailers to report quarterly on discarded and donated food. 328 reports (from ≈ 4,000 outlets) indicated ≈14,460 t waste and ≈5,030 t donations in the last quarter of 2023. The average waste per large chain branch amounts to 500–4,500 kg/quarter. Fruits and vegetables make up 44.96 %, followed by baked goods at 19.42 %. 
Practical tip: Caritas Vienna, also a ToNoWaste project partner, processes food donations as part of the "Le+O – Sustainable support for households affected by poverty" initiative – you can volunteer there.

Hälsinglands Education Association (HEA) is included in the ToNoWaste project as a "follower city", a role that gives the opportunity to participate, contribute and learn. HEA will contribute with the small municipality perspective within the project and in addition, HEA will have the opportunity to be inspired, discuss, and disseminate the results.

One opportunity for dissemination in a larger group was given at a theme day about “Preparedness and food security” at Hälsingland education association, Söderhamn on 11th of April 2024. The organisers were regional official such as Stakeholders County Administrative Board of Gävleborg, Federation of Swedish farmers, Gävleborg, and the County council of Gävleborg, partly financed by the European union. About 200 people who represented producers, retailors, civil servants at local and regional levels visited the theme day. 
Key speakers were senior researcher Jansik Csaba, from Natural resources Institute Finland, and Lena Lind Swedish food agency. And in the afternoon, there were workshops on different themes. 
HEA had a mini exhibition for presentation of the ToNoWaste project from where the food waste topic was discussed with interested participants. HEA also gave some written information. At the mingle, important persons who represented interesting organizations was given information. Visitors showed interest in the project and noted that the food waste topic is important in the current situation in the world. 
It seems important to participate in different types of conferences targeting the ToNoWaste project. It is easy to make new contact and find new synergies in that context. 

Within the ToNoWaste project, pilot studies in European cities including Vienna, Graz, and Valencia are tackling food losses and waste challenges. As detailed in Practise Abstract 15, the focus for the Comunitat Valenciana is on agricultural outputs such as citrus and persimmon, through direct collaboration with producers and cooperatives. After the pilot was evaluated by the ToNoWaste project, the final action for CACV was determined focusing on the "Evaluation of losses in citrus cultivation" specifically in orange production. 
This effort unfolds in six phases: from initial preparation and methodology planning through data collection on field and warehouse losses, to propose and apply losses reduction strategies, with ToNoWaste evaluating the applied solutions. 
Currently, the action plan is in the data collection phase, with COPOBLA facilitating the monitoring and loss estimation processes. The implementation phase outlined a detailed flowchart, considering pre-harvest, post-harvest, and warehouse stages, alongside selecting two varieties of oranges—Navelina (early-season) and Lane late (late-season)—to assess and compare loss patterns across different harvest periods, Some of the qualitative results collected to date show different causes leading to these food losses. Examples are non-compliance quality standards due to malformations, lack of calibre, healed and colour defects. Others are related to the presence of pests, climate change, or failure to harvest the fruit in time.
This comprehensive approach aims to shed light on food losses from citrus cultivation, to understand the causes, guiding the identification, development, and evaluation of targeted interventions to reduce food losses effectively. It signifies a pivotal step towards achieving the goals of the ToNoWaste project, emphasizing sustainability and efficiency in agricultural practices.

The quality requirements of citrus fruits for marketing in the territory of the EU are set out in COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2021/1890 of 2 August 2021: ‘amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 543/2011 as regards marketing standards in the fruit and vegetables sector’.
It defines the minimum quality conditions for their sale and distribution labelled as Class II: 
‘Class II
This class includes citrus fruit which do not qualify for inclusion in the higher classes but satisfy the minimum requirements specified above. 
The following defects may be allowed, provided the citrus fruit retain their essential characteristics as regards the quality, the keeping quality and presentation: 
•    defects in shape 
•    defects in colouring, including sunburn 
•    progressive skin defects, provided they do not affect the flesh 
•    skin defects occurring during the formation of the fruit, such as silver scurfs, russets or pest damage 
•    healed defects due to a mechanical cause such as hail damage, rubbing or damage from handling 
•    superficial healed skin alterations 
•    rough skin 
•    a slight and partial detachment of the peel (or rind) for oranges and a partial detachment of the peel (or rind) for fruit of the mandarin group’.

Size is determined by the maximum diameter of the equatorial section of the fruit.
As for the sizes, they are stipulated as minimum sizes. It can be concluded that the EU quality standards for citrus fruits provide producers and distributors with sufficient tolerance for the marketing of ugly fruit, complying with the requirements related to the correct marking as class II.
The basic condition for their acceptance is to avoid those defects that can lead to the loss of the fruit due to its evolution to rottenness.
That is the main reason to establish quality controls that eliminate the fruits that are affected by non-stable defect while those with stable defects can be marketed and consumed, reducing the percentages of loss and/or waste.
These considerations can be applied to all other fruits and vegetables.

The main task of hortofruit centers is the conditioning and standardization of fresh agricultural products intended for human consumption.

To accomplish this, there are facilities, materials, supplies, machinery, and human resources that must be suitable and trained for these tasks.

In the specific case of citrus, there are operations that will significantly impact the generation of losses. These operations will have repercussions on the fruit's condition: treatment in a drencher, de-greening, refrigerated conservation, plant cleaning and disinfection, and inventory management.

The quality of the fruit and the conditions in which it is supplied to the warehouse are factors that will influence subsequent operations but are predetermined at the time of entry. The central management's mission is to control and report any problems that may affect losses.

Simultaneously, these managers must establish corresponding plans to, based on these entry conditions, plan the warehouse's own operations in accordance with them and always with the aim of minimizing losses, in coordination with different departments of the company.

Thus, stock management becomes a fundamental operation in loss control. On the one hand, it must ensure that the fruit is harvested according to its optimal ripeness, and on the other hand, it must guarantee the necessary supply for the preparation of commercial orders. At the same time, it must establish a rotation and quantities in stock that prevent the degradation and loss of the fresh food's condition intended for human consumption

On April 26, 2023, Caritas Vienna organized a Zero Waste Cooking event at Stand 129 as part of the ToNoWaste project. Located at Viktor-Adler market in Vienna's 10th district, Stand 129 hosts diverse art and culture events open to everyone. Cooks with varied backgrounds regularly join the kitchen to collaborate on preparing complimentary meals. For this event, Caritas Vienna partnered with Caritas food bank Le+O.
A team member from the Caritas food bank Le+O brought a diverse range of leftover food, including bread, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Using these items, a spontaneous meal was planned with a few additional ingredients purchased at the market. Around 30 people participated in the cooking and dining experience, forming teams to prepare various dishes. Despite minor imperfections in the donated food, participants responded positively. Dishes included leek and potato soup, a banana-strawberry milkshake, garlic bread, a bean stew, and more. After cooking, a communal table was set, and all the dishes were enjoyed together. Leftovers were distributed among the participants.
The main value for participants was engaging in a collaborative, sustainable cooking experience with donated and rescued food. It offered insights into Zero Waste cooking, fostered community, and showcased practical aspects of sustainable cooking. This event served as a trial for upcoming ToNoWaste pilot activities at Caritas Vienna, for which members of the Caritas commuity kitchen "Community Cooking" will organize Zero Waste Cooking Workshops for vulnerable communities.

The ToNoWaste València pilot team traveled to the city of Montpellier to learn about its experiences in food waste. The company, Cuinatur, organized the visit with CIRAD -Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement-. The Universitat Jaume I, Las Naves, CEMAS and Justicia Alimentaria also participated.
They visited CIRAD's Agri-Food Technology Platform where they experiment with different processes that improve food quality.  The team met with the Secretary General of the UNESCO Chair "Alimentations du Monde", Damien Conaré, and with Nicolas Bricas, expert in sustainable food systems and member of the IPES-Food panel, to learn about their actions and research on food waste.
The last visit was to the Montpellier Central Kitchen that supplies the schools of the municipality where they presented the food program, the food waste measures they carry out in schools and the governance structures such as the School Food Monitoring Committee.
All in all, it was a very inspiring exchange of experiences for the ToNoWaste team of the Valencia pilot project.

Annually, 1.3 billion tons of food are lost or discarded to become waste.

The Municipality of Halandri has adopted the UN 12.3 strategic goal to reduce food loss by prevention and reuse (retail stores, food services, organizations, residents) as well as to divert food waste from landfilling by collection at the source and valorization to produce biofuels, energy, and compost. To achieve the stated aims the Municipality has founded the Food Loss and Waste Prevention Unit. The Unit has conducted extensive research on food waste in nurseries, in food retail shops and restaurants, as well as in households. The research included questionnaires, diaries (weighing and recording of food waste), as well as analysis of the composition of the brown bin, used for separate collection of food waste at the source.
The findings of the research are as follows:
In nurseries most food waste is plate leftovers. Serving nutritionally equivalent meals but more attractive for children, reduction of portions with repetition for those children who desire it, as well as educational initiatives may play a role in decreasing this waste.
In restaurants food waste is generated mainly during food preparation.
Regarding retail stores, staff training is regarded an extremely important measure to reduce losses. 
Household waste surveys, diary monitoring and compositional analyses led to the conclusion that a sizable portion of the daily discarded edible food could have been avoided. Awareness raising and educational workshops may play a significant role towards the above-mentioned scope. The Municipality of Halandri has been actively engaging the society’ stakeholders in the mentioned activities, aiming to empower each actor towards food waste prevention.      
In the upcoming months, the Food Loss and Waste Prevention Unit will seek and implement the best practices to prevent food waste in the framework of the EU funded Projects that the Municipality participates in (Horizon ToNoWaste, Horizon 2020 FoodRUs and Erasmus+ Food Connections). 

For a variety of reasons, valuable food is often not used appropriately and ends up in the garbage along the entire value chain. 
In order to reduce food waste directly on the field, at the farmer's and in processing, the ToNoWaste project developed the idea of improving the networking between agriculture and processing companies and thus conveying surpluses or unsold goods directly from the farmer to institutions such as commercial kitchens. 
By means of targeted surveys, groups of goods are to be selected, which are then to be further utilized in processing companies for specific purposes. In addition to the mediation and implementation, assistance is also to be provided in the utilization of the goods. 
As a reference in the project, a cooperation between an existing organic food store and a school kitchen in Graz, Austria is planned. For this purpose, foodstuffs that do not meet the optical quality criteria for supermarkets, for example, because the form does not correspond, are to be marketed by the farmers directly in the organic food store and/or cooked in the school kitchen.

Recent petitions in Austria call for larger supermarkets to donate excess food to charities or animal feed and introduce food origin labels, reflecting public concern.
In the ToNoWaste project's early stages, we collected insights on food waste prevention and reduction solutions and their sustainability potential. To achieve this, we conducted a Delphi study from beginning of March to End of April 2023, with just under 80 food system experts from Austria, Spain, Greece, and Sweden.
We proposed solutions in eight key areas identified in a participatory workshop: regionality, regulations, food production, logistics, sales, consumption, gastronomy, and education. Participants saw education, consumption, and regulation as having the greatest transformation potential. These align with the JRC (Joint Research Centre) categories: redistribution, food valorization, behavior change, supply chain efficiency, and governance. We asked participants to select projects for feasible implementation in the next five years. The following five solutions were chosen by over 90% of the respondents.
1.    Improve food redistribution from retail to social organizations.
2.    Develop educational initiatives and training.
3.    Establish regional platforms for information exchange and logistics.
4.    Enhance access to use-best-before date information.
5.    Reassess and support food waste recycling in the production sector.
Regionality, product labeling, and food donations, as in the Austrian public petitions, are highly relevant. 
Vienna, Graz, Valencia, Hälsingland, and Halandri are currently developing specific actions as part of the ToNoWaste project, contributing to a new assessment framework and promoting sustainability in these cities.

In June 2023, Austria conducted two important petitions for referendums that have garnered significant attention and support from the public. The first sought to enforce laws requiring supermarkets over 400 square meters to donate consumable food surplus to charities or for animal fodder, like existing laws in France, Italy, and the Czech Republic. The second sought to introduce a food product origin label, with the primary objective of promoting locally produced food and potentially leading to other innovative measures like the restriction of live animal transports and the creation of more local job opportunities, as well as having a positive impact on climate protection. The first petition secured 203,831 positive votes, and the second received 149,891 votes in favor. These vote totals exceeded the required threshold of 100,000 which means that they will need to be further considered in the national council. 
In the ToNoWaste project, one of the aims is to research the awareness and visions of citizens about the consequences and implications of food waste. To reach this goal, the project involves various studies, one of which is a Delphi study. It aims to explore the perspectives of different stakeholders in the food system regarding solutions and actions to prevent and reduce food waste. Additionally, it seeks to establish criteria for evaluating the sustainability of these actions. The preliminary findings from the Delphi study align with the results of the public referendums, emphasizing the shared importance of these issues among professionals, academics, and the public in Austria as we work towards more sustainable food systems. For more information about the Delphi Study and its findings, please refer to the upcoming Practice Abstract.

In the first phases of the production chain (harvest, transportation, preparation, storage) a series of food losses occur due to different causes. However, these causes are not fully defined or quantified, and in order to design and evaluate strategies to help minimize losses, it is necessary to obtain this information in a precise and measurable manner.

Within the framework of the ToNoWaste Project, a pilot study will be carried out on two crops of great importance in the Valencian Community, such as citrus fruits and persimmon, for which there will be direct collaboration with producers and cooperatives. From the harvest itself in the field, and until the prepared fruits leave the cooperative's warehouse, all the losses that occur throughout the entire process will be analyzed, quantifying them and identifying their cause. The information collected will be essential for the development of future practices that minimize these losses and whose sustainability will be assessed thanks to the tools developed by the project itself. We must not overlook that reducing these losses will not only contribute to greater availability of food, but will also improve the profitability of farmers.

By engaging in a multi-stakeholder debate on food waste and reflecting on the input and recommendations of various stakeholders, the retail sector can gain valuable insights and strategies to reduce waste, improve sustainability and meet consumer needs. Possible lines of approach for the sector:
- Multisectoral Collaboration to lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the causes and solutions to food waste and the implementation of more effective strategies.
- Promote Transparency in the supply chain; 
- Play an important role in consumer education and awareness raising by providing information on how to reduce household waste and promote responsible purchasing;
- Participate in food donation programmes to social organisations;
- Reflect on Use-by/Best before Dates and Labelling to encourage standardisation and clarity of information on food packaging;
- Encourage more sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging that extends the shelf life of products;
- Demonstrate a clear commitment to reducing food waste.

The food waste impact assessment is extremely complex, not only due to the lack of open access data but also to the absence of a standard methodology for the overall evaluation in real food systems. And this problem especially affects the engagement of private entities that need to evaluate the profitability and sustainability of large-scale food waste prevention and reduction (FWPR) solutions to act.
Nowadays the consequences are around 88 million tonnes of food wasted annually along the EU food supply chain, from primary production up to consumption, with associated costs estimated at 143 billion euros. In addition, the environmental impact associated is also huge: during 2010–2016, the global food loss and waste equalled 8–10% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions and cost about 1 trillion USD/year and 30% of agricultural land waste its crops. But the situation is perhaps even worse, with statistics indicating that 70% of all human food lost or wasted might not be registered because it is originated in primary production or used as animal feed. is mandatory to provide and develop high-tech solutions that put in place the project's objectives. Those solutions will improve the capability of providing relevant insights to specific stakeholders and sharing knowledge between entities. Moreover, by using high-tech solutions, ToNoWaste will be able to provide real-time information to improve decision-making across the supply chain.

Hälsinglands Education Association (HEA) is included in the ToNoWaste project as a "follower city", a role that gives the opportunity to participate, contribute and learn. HEA will contribute with the small municipality perspective within the project and in addition, HEA will have the opportunity to be inspired, discuss, and disseminate the results. HEA will be a test bed for tools and methods for preventing food waste (which other groups in the project will develop), In preparation for this, through various meetings, a group of stakeholders who are willing to participate has been chosen.Stakeholders are chosen from each of the six municipalities in the region of Halsingland, Sweden. In each municipality there is one person, usually within the municipal management, who are responsible for issues regarding food waste. The same persons are also often the municipality's responsible for the Swedish Food Strategy which also includes food waste. Several chosen Stakeholders works as Dietary managers and dietary strategists and are responsible for the municipality's nursery schools, primary and secondary schools, care for the elderly and care for people with disabilities. In our organization primary producers, who also are involved in education for small scale farming are chosen as stakeholders.The stakeholders have been interviewed about ongoing work with food waste, individually and in workshops.

In Austria, the majority of food waste is generated in private households. One reason for this is that food is often purchased in large quantities. This in turn is partly due to the fact that (supermarket) opening hours in Austria are comparatively restrictive.
This is where the idea of the 24/7 City Food Box comes in. These are (beautifully designed) containers that are accessible around the clock. City Food Box because similar boxes basically already exist in rural areas. Access can be enabled via an app and is intended to encourage customers to buy smaller quantities of food at a time - in the knowledge that food is also available outside regular (supermarket) opening hours.
In addition to this added value, these boxes should offer other advantages. These include offering fruits and vegetables that do not meet visual quality criteria for supermarkets because of their shape. In addition, it should be possible for suppliers to sell surplus produce more easily. By registering via an app, it is possible for the box operator to communicate with the customers. If large quantities of perishable food are available due to a particularly successful harvest, they can be offered in the box (at a lower price) at relatively short notice once customers have been informed via the app. In addition, the box will serve as an information point on food waste issues.
All these advantages should lead to less food being wasted overall. This idea is currently being developed and will be followed up as part of the ToNoWaste project (https://tonowaste.eu).

Perspektive Handel is a social institution that has set itself the task of operating supermarkets in Austria and thereby promoting the integration of people with placement barriers into the regular labour market.
In Austria, most of the food waste happens in private households, but there is also a great potential to reduce this kind of resource waste in supermarkets.
Perspektive Handel faces this challenge in two ways: firstly, by trying to sensitise and educate employees on the topic through a training programme and, in a second action, by making customers aware of the topic and supporting them in making more targeted purchases.
In concrete terms, in the first action (staff training) Perspektive Handel tries to elicit the differences between supermarkets with little food waste compared to those with a high proportion of food waste. Based on this, a training programme for the staff will be developed and implemented. The current amounts of food waste will then be compared with the amounts of waste after the training.
In the second action (customer awareness), employees are also taught first. The aim is to advise customers primarily on the purchase of perishable food. The expected successes are to be measured in surveys of the customers later on. The results will be incorporated into the further development of the training programme.

To develop the pilot project for the prevention of food waste in Mercavalència, it is necessary to define the initial situation or context in which it is located. For this purpose, within the Master's Thesis titled "Reduction of Food Waste in Mercavalència: Indicators to Formulate a Strategy" from the Universitat Politècnica de València, a series of indicators have been designed to obtain a baseline scenario. It's noteworthy that within this work, indicators have also been developed to gather data once the food surplus prevention strategy is implemented, so that the results from the initial phase can be compared with subsequent results.

In this way, it will be possible to quantify the number of kilos of food that are lost, as well as those that are recovered for donation through social entities, and the kilos of food that are transformed into other food products. On the other hand, they will allow us to know to what extent social entities and wholesalers who trade their products in Mercavalència are involved in food recovery, and the impact that the implementation of a food waste reduction project can have on food donation and the purchasing habits of traders.

These indicators are therefore crucial to initiate a measurement process that allows, beyond data collection, decision-making regarding the defined strategy and the prevention of food surpluses.
 

In the ToNoWaste project, it is important to understand the situation of Mercavalència, and more specifically, that of the wholesale market, comprised of private companies selling fruits and vegetables. Mercavalència simply plays a role as a space leaser, ensuring that this activity takes place and providing the means for a continuation in the food chain whose main and final recipient is the consumer.

Below are the main characteristics and challenges that can be found:

- The very limited time frame in which buying and selling must take place.
- The deep-rooted habit and mindset of doing things a certain way. 
- Along with the challenge that because of a mindset of tradition, there's resistance to doing things differently.
- Not perceiving food waste as a multifaceted problem.
- The lack of a penalty register within Mercavalència.
- High competition among wholesalers and mutual mistrust.
- The inertia of the administrations and their low investment.
- Lastly, some positive aspects to consider are outlined:
- Centralization of wholesalers in one market.
- Nighttime hours that allow for management by buyers and subsequent sales in their own business.
- The ability to achieve fairer prices to conduct business.

A third of all produced food is thrown away. If food waste were a country, it would be third in a CO2 country ranking behind China and the United States. Food waste has a much larger impact than is apparent at first glance. Furthermore, it is an ethical problem as long as hunger exists on the planet. In addition, all the time-consuming disposal of food that has already been produced, transported and stored not only leads to environmental damage, but is also a burden on our economic system. But above all, it is avoidable. The EU project ToNoWaste tries to derive measures along the value chain to reduce or completely avoid
food waste. There is great potential for improvement, especially in private households, which will be highlighted in the course of the project. One goal is to show possible solutions to end consumers to pursue “zero food waste”, i.e. the complete avoidance of food waste in their own households. To this end, it is necessary to highlight the advantages that can be of both economic and social relevance: Through so-called pilot actions, data is collected from end consumers, among others, which will contribute to achieve the goals

According to FAO estimates, 1/3 of global production is lost or wasted, while 805 million people, equivalent to 11% of the world's population, suffer from undernourishment or chronic hunger. These data allow us to conclude that the planet is not short of food; on the contrary, much more is produced than is needed. Food waste, in addition to ethical issues, has an impact on the environment and results in the loss of resources such as water, agricultural land, and energy. Analyzing the causes of food waste is a complex matter, but it is closely related to the current food production system. The school canteen is an ideal learning environment where one can interact and experiment with healthy and responsible eating habits from an early age. Addressing the issue of food waste in schools will allow children to reflect on the value of food with the aim of reducing waste. These would be the main points to develop:

ORDER CALCULATION: Quantities (weights) optimized for the age and number of diners, as well as the acceptance of the planned menu.

LOGISTICS OPTIMIZATION (smart logistics).

AWARENESS: Posters and displays.

TRAINING FOR MONITORS on the amounts that constitute a serving, depending on the age of the diners and nutritional recommendations, as well as establishing a clear criterion for "seconds."

WORKSHOPS:

ACCEPTANCE OF VEGETABLES AND LEGUMES. Compare between pureed/whole, color, texture, raw/cooked, boiled/fried, fresh/frozen.
TECHNIQUES FOR PEELING/CUTTING FRUIT.

One of the project goals is to understand how we can help people avoid or reduce food waste. One of the concepts we're using is called the COM-B model, which states that when people want to change their behavior, they need three things: the motivation to do it, the ability to do it, and the opportunity to do it.
Another important model we're using is called the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). This framework takes the COM-B model and breaks it down into 14 different parts, or domains. They help us understand in even more detail why people do the things they do.

The project will investigate if the actions we're taking are actually effective. We're going to do field experiments in real-life situations. We will measure how much food waste there is and then perform the action we want to study, like maybe a workshop on cooking with leftovers. After that, we measure the food waste again  shortly after the intervention and later on. By comparing the measurements, we can see if our action really made a difference, also in the long term. We also have a group of people who doi not participate in the action (they're our control group). We measure their food waste too, so we can see if the action group did better than this control group. This helps us be really sure that our action is what caused the change.

There will be several actions taking place in about 4 cities. Our research will therefore help explain what elements of those actions worked best (according to a number of criteria) for which segments of the population.

In the first work package of the ToNoWaste project, collaborative research and efforts are undertaken towards the creation of a new framework that facilitates the decision-making process for all stakeholders involved in generating food waste.

Below are succinctly listed perceptions about the problem and challenges posed by actions that are being developed, have been developed, or are currently under development. These perceptions were presented by various social entities, public administrations, school canteens, producers, distributors, and consumers from the area of influence/action of the Valencian Community:

The fear of a lack of food provision and the devaluation of food are both a perception and a cultural factor that transcends in the generation of food waste.

Adapting the food diet offer to seasonal products and those available in nearby areas are key factors in preventing food waste.

Coordination, participation, awareness, and sensitization of the various stakeholders and actors that form the food chain, as well as empathy and will, are fundamental. They should be integrated into the development of an action or be an action in and of themselves. They must always be accompanied by instruments and tools that assist and facilitate the management of various processes that can support the execution and financing of an action.

Measuring food waste (through indicators/metrics) can be implemented in different phases, through the introduction and improvement of IT tools for managing the efficiency of processes that are part of the production, distribution, and consumption of food.

In the development of the ToNoWaste project, there's a strong emphasis on, and encouragement of, the participation of all stakeholders present throughout the entire supply chain and who are part of the decision-making process. The goal is to prevent and reduce the loss and waste of fresh food.

Below are the main contributions and conclusions drawn from the participatory analysis of these actors in the area of influence/action of the Valencian Community:

The most relevant factors influencing the decision-making process on FLWPR actions are related to the lack of knowledge and/or misinformation about the environmental, social, and financial impacts of food waste, consumption and/or purchasing habits; the regulatory and political framework, the market structure, the low perceived value of food and aesthetic considerations/aspects of products, as well as the availability and accessibility of financial resources, the existence of research and innovation strategies, and the effectiveness of available technology.

Main concerns expressed when executing each of the food waste reduction actions:

Sustainability of the action over time and its effectiveness.

Definition of joint and/or global concepts and terms of work with uniform and cross-cutting criteria.

Clarity on how to measure food waste, taking into account all the nuances and factors that contribute to its generation.

In the ToNoWaste project, it is essential to include an open, multi-stakeholder debate on causes and solutions to food waste throughout the entire supply chain. Public administrations, distributors, producers, researchers, specialised consultants, school canteens and academia, reflected on it with special emphasis on the city of Valencia (one of the pilot cities of the project).
Their main contributions and recommendations, of interest to various actors in the food chain, are listed below:
-They consider that the actors/stakeholders in the chain are frequently disconnected. Greater interconnection, from producers to consumers, would generate better decisions.
-The aesthetic requirements in supermarkets and their packaging policy cause a volume of waste that could be reduced.
-Current consumers are more demanding in terms of quality standards, although quality is usually based on aesthetic considerations. Issues exist that are linked to their education and awareness (e.g.: shopping and menu planning). The importance of schools stands out in this regard.
-There is a need for more public policies.
-There is a need to define and measure food waste and its impact in economic, social and environmental terms to come up with effective solutions. For this, the usefulness of technological applications is highlighted.
-There is a need to better inform and educate the consumer about the difference between the ‘best before date’ and the ‘expiration date’.
-There is also a need to understand the traceability of waste: it can be located in one stage, but originate in another.

ToNoWaste has started in September 2022 and is funded by the Horizon Europe Program to generate knowledge on sustainability assessment solutions for food loss and waste reduction actions and use scientific evidence-based assessment tools and data to make the best decisions towards more sustainable food production and consumption patterns. Food waste is a major problem, some 88 million tones of food is wasted every year in the EU, from primary production to consumption, with costs of over €143 billion. The associated environmental impact is also huge and global food waste is equivalent to 8-10% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, implying that 30% of agricultural land wastes its crops. The situation may be even worse, as statistics indicate that 70% of all wasted food may not be recorded because it originates from primary production or is used as animal feed. ToNoWaste is a 48-month project, 21 institutions and 7 countries, with a multi-actor and interdisciplinary approach that considers agronomic, economic, environmental and business model challenges and cross-cutting aspects such as psychology, law and social innovation to fight gender and social inequalities. 
Recommendation: Visit https://tonowaste.eu to learn about solutions to reduce food loss and waste, no matter what stage of the chain you operate in, you can certainly reduce your impacts and to learn about the latest research results aimed at combating it.