The problem of food waste will be studied in Turkey

FAO, Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Metro Turkey are joining forces to tackle food waste in the food and hospitality sector.

Hotels, restaurants and catering have a vital role to play in reducing food loss and waste. This includes looking at how they produce products, create menus, and manage leftovers and food waste. To make improvements in this area, FAO is bringing together representatives from the public and private sectors for joint action. To this end, FAO representatives met with Metro Turkey (a subsidiary of METRO AG, an international food wholesaler) and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to jointly reduce food loss and waste in Turkish hotels, restaurants, the catering and hospitality sector.

Reducing food waste is one of the major global challenges of our time. In Turkey alone, 18 million tons of food is wasted every year, and in the EU this figure rises to about 88 million tons. When food is discarded in this way, valuable resources used in its production are also wasted, even if the high cost of food disposal is not taken into account.

Significant amounts of food wasted during preparation and storage, a lack of knowledge about how to evaluate leftovers (whether in the kitchen, buffet tables or customers' plates), and overproduction and overproduction due to inaccurate estimates have made waste management a priority survey in the field of food and hospitality. To address food loss and waste and its negative impacts, it is essential to identify where and why they are generated, and to apply best practices for better management.

By pooling their knowledge and efforts, FAO, the Ministry and Metro Turkey aim to develop guidelines, checklists and tips for the food and hospitality sector that any hospitality establishment can follow to reduce food waste. The guidelines will include advice on how to prevent food waste, as well as information on how to use the inevitable food surpluses.  

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Viorel Gutu, Sub-Regional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative in Turkey, explained that “this triangular collaboration will help empower food and hospitality staff to more effectively reduce and manage food waste.”