The European Commission has proposed that member states develop national food waste prevention strategies with the aim of reducing such waste by at least 30 percent by 2025.
Germany has also been active on the issue, pioneering "food-sharing", using the Internet to distribute produce recovered from store rubbish while still in good condition.
Earlier this month, Britain's biggest supermarket chain Tesco said it would introduce a pilot scheme at 10 of its stores to give away each day's unsold food to charities.