Dutch Supermarkets make food waste transparent

An average of 98.3% of all food offered by supermarkets in the Netherlands is sold. 1.7% of the food, expressed in kilograms, does not reach the consumer. This shows research carried out by supermarkets, the Central Bureau for Food Trade (CBL), Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality under the auspices of the Samen Tegen Voedselverwasting (STV) foundation. Together, they are providing insight into food waste figures within Dutch supermarket organisations for the first time. This puts supermarkets at the forefront and makes the Netherlands the first country in the world to have this detailed insight. 

Five Dutch supermarket chains participated in this self-reporting: Albert Heijn, Aldi, Jumbo, Lidl and PLUS. Together they cover approximately 77.5% of the Dutch market. Thanks to this research, there is now a better and more reliable insight into food waste at supermarkets. The supermarket chains have voluntarily reported their own food waste to WUR on a confidential basis. WUR carried out the data analysis and upscaling for the entire Dutch market. 

The 1.7% food waste within the supermarket channel consists of five product categories 

Waste compared to sales

To reflect the impact of the waste, it is important to look at the proportion of food wasted in relation to purchasing volumes. Compared to purchasing, the proportion of food wasted is: bread, bake-off bread and pastries 7.7%, fresh meat and fresh fish 2.9%, potatoes, fruit and vegetables 2.7%, dairy, eggs and chilled ready meals 1.4%.

"In order to take targeted action to reduce food waste, having reliable data is crucial," says Jennifer Muller of the CBL. "The results of this Food Waste Self-Monitor are therefore very valuable. It is now factually underpinned on which product categories the best action can be taken, allowing us to focus on the industry-wide goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030".

Unique in the world

"With this baseline measurement and the subsequent annual reporting, the retail sector is the first sector to provide a transparent picture of food waste within its own companies. This is unique in the world", says Toine Timmermans of STV. "The retail sector now has its own insight into the residual flows and can better monitor the results of actions to further reduce food waste. This will accelerate the broader movement to use raw materials more effectively in the chain, and the standard will be lowered step by step."