Belgium (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): OVAM’s campaign for International Food Loss Day encourages cutting down on food waste. It highlights that Flemish families throw away 22 kg of food yearly and offers an AI chatbot for recipe suggestions.
OVAM’s spokesperson, Jan Verheyen, pointed out that the waste mentioned doesn’t include fruit or potato peels but good leftover food. The study looked at food waste in different waste streams compared to what an average Flemish family spends on food yearly. On average, a family in Flanders spends €6,355 on groceries annually, with about 8% of that ending up as waste, roughly 21.84 kilos.
What Strategies Are Being Implemented to Reduce Food Waste?
OVAM started a campaign before International Food Loss Day on Sunday, September 29. They set up a website with an AI chatbot that suggests recipes using ingredients in your fridge. People have the chance to win an exclusive dinner prepared by chef Tim Boury by participating in the contest. The competition starts on Friday. The website also advises students and businesses on how to cut down on food waste or share extra food through platforms like Too Good To Go.
Eurostat, the European stats office, found that the average European chucked out 72 kilos of food in 2022, including both edible and non-edible waste. In contrast, the average person in Flanders wasted 52.3 kilograms. Verheyen said, “Flanders is doing pretty well compared to Europe.
