The 2026 edition of the European Sustainable Development Week highlights sustainable food, coinciding with the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on September 29th. In France, the situation remains concerning: in 2023, 9.7 million tons of food waste were generated. Of this, 3.8 million tons were still perfectly edible, including damaged products or meal leftovers.
According to data from ADEME, each year, the average French person discards 61 kilograms of food waste, with 19 kilograms of this being still edible food. The financial value of this waste amounts to approximately €100 per inhabitant annually, a figure that tends to rise with inflation, particularly for products like charcuterie, meat, or fish.
The breakdown of food waste in France is as follows: 35% comes from households, 26% is related to agricultural production, 17% to processing, 14% to out-of-home consumption, and 8% to distribution.
