The latest EU figures show that food waste has changed very little in recent years, while the 2030 reduction targets are approaching. For professional kitchens, making meaningful progress requires reliable data, better planning and consistent follow-up.
Eurostat's food waste statistics, published in autumn 2026, show that food waste remains a significant challenge across the EU. In 2024, the EU generated an estimated 57.9 million tonnes of food waste, equivalent to approximately 129 kg per person. This represents a slight increase of 0.7% compared with 2023.
Despite growing awareness and numerous initiatives across Europe, overall food waste levels have changed very little in recent years. Reducing food waste requires more than targets and occasional campaigns. It depends on lasting improvements in how food is planned, prepared, served and monitored.
Food service accounts for a significant share
According to Eurostat, food waste generated in the EU in 2024 was distributed as follows:
- 53% from households
- 19% from food and beverage manufacturing
- 12% from restaurants and food services
- 8% from primary production
- 8% from retail and other food distribution
Restaurants and food services alone accounted for almost seven million tonnes of food waste.
Importantly, Eurostat's figures include both edible and inedible parts of food, such as peels and bones. Not all of the food waste included in the statistics can therefore be prevented.
In professional kitchens, tracking edible and inedible food waste separately helps identify how much waste comes from ingredient preparation and how much edible food is being discarded unnecessarily.
EU targets for 2030 call for stronger action
In 2025, the EU adopted an amendment to its Waste Framework Directive, introducing legally binding food waste reduction targets for Member States to achieve by 2030.
The targets require:
A 30% reduction per capita across retail, restaurants, food services and households combined
A 10% reduction in food processing and manufacturing
The reductions are generally measured against the average annual food waste levels recorded between 2021 and 2023. These are national-level targets, not a direct legal requirement for every individual restaurant or professional kitchen to reduce food waste by 30%.
Nevertheless, reaching them will require action throughout the food supply chain. Restaurants, workplace canteens, schools, hospitals and other food service organisations all have an important role to play.
Why is progress so slow?
The challenge is not necessarily a lack of awareness or willingness to reduce waste. Many professional kitchens are already making efforts to improve efficiency and prevent unnecessary food waste. However, daily operations are complex. Customer numbers fluctuate, demand can be difficult to predict, and production needs to balance availability with the risk of preparing too much food.
Limited measurement can make these challenges harder to address. When food waste is recorded only occasionally, or measured solely as a total weight, it becomes difficult to identify the causes and determine which actions will make the greatest difference. For example, waste generated during food preparation requires a different response from surplus food left after service or food returned on customers' plates. Knowing how many kilograms have been discarded is useful, but it does not automatically tell a kitchen what needs to change.
Turning food waste data into action
Effective food waste reduction starts with understanding current performance. Regular, consistent measurement helps kitchens identify recurring problems, prioritise improvements and evaluate the results.
For larger food service organisations, consistent data collection also supports meaningful comparisons between locations and helps identify practices that can be adopted across the organisation.
Four practical steps can make a difference.
- Identify where and what type of food waste occurs.
Distinguish between edible and inedible food waste and, where possible, separate preparation waste, serving waste and plate waste. This helps identify where preventable food waste occurs and where improvements should be prioritised. - Look beyond total kilograms.
Track food waste in relation to production quantities or the number of meals served. This provides a more useful basis for comparing different days, locations and reporting periods. - Investigate recurring patterns.
If a particular dish consistently generates high levels of waste, or surplus food regularly increases on certain days, use the information to review production quantities and planning practices. - Make adjustments and measure the results.
Changes such as refining production volumes, adjusting portion sizes or replenishing buffet dishes in smaller quantities can help reduce waste. The important next step is to verify whether those changes deliver measurable improvements.
Food waste reduction also improves cost control
Reducing food waste is not only an environmental priority. It is also a question of operational efficiency and financial performance.
Every kilogram of discarded food represents costs associated with ingredients, storage, preparation and other resources. This is why tracking food waste by value can be just as important as tracking its weight. Even relatively small quantities of expensive ingredients or prepared dishes can have a significant financial impact. Measuring food waste in kilograms, monetary value and CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e) helps organisations understand both the financial and environmental implications.
SmartKitchen's FoodWasteTracker enables professional kitchens to track edible and inedible food waste separately and analyse the results from different perspectives. It helps teams identify waste sources, monitor progress and focus their efforts where improvements can have the greatest impact.
From targets to measurable results
The latest EU figures are a reminder that faster progress is needed to achieve the 2030 food waste reduction targets. For professional kitchens, however, meaningful improvement does not necessarily require a complete overhaul of daily operations. It can begin with identifying one recurring source of food waste, understanding its causes and making targeted changes.
What matters is continuing to measure the results and using those findings to guide the next improvement.
Food waste reduction becomes measurable progress when reliable data leads to practical decisions and consistent follow-up.