Sixty-five EU food companies have signed a new code of conduct on responsible food business and marketing practices, the latest deliverable under the European Commission’s Farm to Fork Strategy. This is part of the EU’s efforts to increase the availability and affordability of healthy and sustainable food options that help reduce its overall environmental footprint.
The code was developed with EU associations and companies, with active involvement and input from other stakeholders, including international organizations, NGOs, trade unions and trade associations, and together with the European Commission services.
The framework sets objectives for EU associations to improve the impact of food processing, retail, and food services' operations, as well as for companies to make measurable progress in areas including animal welfare, sugar reduction, and cutting greenhouse gas emissions in their full product range.
“We need to make our food system sustainable and we need to do it soon,” said Frans Timmermans, executive vice president of the commission, in a statement. “We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions and halt biodiversity loss related to food production, and shape a food system that makes it easier to choose a healthy and sustainable diet. Addressing these environmental, health, and social challenges in our food system require cooperation across the entire food chain and I am encouraged by ambitions of the stakeholders who have already signed up to the EU Code of Conduct.”
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