According to the Ecological Transition Agency (Ademe), every year in France, nearly ten million tons of consumable food are wasted. A field in which producers, processors, distributors, restaurateurs and households are all concerned. Of these ten million tons lost and wasted per year, 33% are lost during the consumption phase, 32% during production, 21% during processing and 14% during distribution, underlines Ademe. In an attempt to limit this phenomenon, the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion launched, on Wednesday March 1, a national anti-food waste label.
This label aims to encourage the various players in the food chain who, through their efforts to raise awareness but also to train staff in particular, manage to significantly reduce their food waste, explains the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion on its site. “The objective is to make the institutions invested more credible but also more transparent about their commitments”, underlines for Le Monde Clémentine Lindon, head of external relations for the “anti-waste” application Too good to go France, who participated in the creation of the audit grid.
From the same source, it is explained that the label stems from the anti-waste law for a circular economy (AGEC) of 2020, whose objective is to halve food waste by 2025 for the distribution and catering sectors. collective, and by half by 2030 for the other players in the food industry.
Alongside the French Association for Standardization (Afnor) and Ademe, large retailers, food and humanitarian aid associations and anti-waste actors were asked to give birth to this label, says Clément Carreau, head of public affairs for the anti-waste start-up Phenix.
As the ministry reminds us, the first players concerned by this label are large and medium-sized stores (supermarkets and hypermarkets), wholesalers and catering trades (butchers, delicatessens, bakers, cheese makers, greengrocers).
“Secondly, this label should be extended to the collective and commercial catering sector, then to the agri-food industry”, underlines Clémentine Lindon.
The national anti-food waste label is based on seventeen criteria, divided into four categories: transversal performance, which evaluates the action plan and the analysis of the breakage rate of the store; food supply, purchasing and manufacturing management; the management of these commodities in store; and, finally, the management of unsold items, with an emphasis on the prioritization of the donation as well as its quality.
A model similar to the “driver’s license” with different points awarded – some with coefficients, as Clément Carreau explains.
Thus, commitment to the fight against food waste will be rewarded with one star, two stars for mastery of the fight against food waste, while three stars will reward the establishment that has reached an exemplary level in the fight against food waste.
The label will be certified by independent companies specializing in auditing, such as Bureau Veritas or Ecocert, approved by the State.
“As part of a continuous improvement process, the renewal of the label will take place every three years”, specifies Clémentine Lindon. A store can therefore win or lose stars, or even have the label withdrawn in the event of breaches.
All establishments can apply, alone or in a group, specifies the ministry.
In view of the necessary audit procedure, the first stars will not be affixed to the storefronts of establishments for “several months”, predicts Vincent Justin, co-founder of the Us store network, anti-gaspi grocery stores.
The latter, who also participated in the development of the label, is aware of the difficulty of making it known. The store network he co-founded will “play along” and ask to be audited to get as many stars as possible.
As Vincent Justin notes, one of the difficulties that the smallest structures could encounter lies in the financial means necessary to mandate the companies responsible for the certification to be renewed every three years.
In addition, the co-founder of We, antigaspi grocery stores recalls that for a label to gain visibility and credibility, the biggest players in the sector must be engaged. At the risk of seeing the rules relaxed later to please the greatest number. “There is always a balance to be found between the requirements of having a label in place and the credibility conferred by the involvement of important players in the sector. We are facing a climate emergency, we have no time to procrastinate. Getting the big distributors to move is already a small victory. »
