Less food waste requires systemic change
Three focus areas for a sustainable food chain and a wastefree future
Eindhoven, 24 september 2025 – This week, the Netherlands marks Waste-Free Week, an initiative that draws attention to one of the greatest challenges of our time: food waste. In the Netherlands alone, households waste around 33 kilos of food per person each year. This not only means the loss of valuable resources, but also places a heavy burden on the climate. Tetra Pak, an expert in food processing and packaging solutions, highlights three pillars that play a key role in sustainable food chains.
According to recent research by “Together Against Food Waste”, Dutch people waste around 33 kilos of food per person per year, amounting to some 23 million meals every week. Meanwhile, 81% of Dutch people believe they waste (far) less than average. Greater awareness remains necessary, although this alone will not solve the problem: it requires collaboration across the entire chain, from farmer and producer to retailer and policymaker. Innovations in processing, packaging and distribution play an important role. Tetra Pak identifies three focus areas for change:
Access to safe and healthy food
Effective policy and clear targets
Collaboration and partnerships
Drie bouwstenen voor een toekomstbestendige voedselketen
Access to safe and healthy food is the foundation of a sustainable food chain. Yet millions of people worldwide still lack nutritious food, partly due to unreliable distribution and cooling. Aseptic processing & packaging plays an important role here: in regions without refrigeration, products remain fresh for six to twelve months, without the need for preservatives. This gives vulnerable communities access to safe and nutritious food, reducing the risk of spoilage and waste.
Reducing food waste also requires clear definitions, measurement methods and objectives. Think of a unified way to record what constitutes food waste and how to measure it. Without such a shared foundation, it remains difficult to determine the scale of the problem and take targeted action. Policymakers play a key role here, by setting national and local targets, providing funding, and structurally including food waste in climate and sustainability policy.
Finally, food waste affects the entire chain, which calls for collaboration between public and private parties. From farmers and producers to retailers, consumer organisations and policymakers: only by acting together can we truly reduce waste. Public-private partnerships make a real difference, for example by investing in better production and storage methods in developing countries, or by working together in Europe on circular initiatives that return materials to the chain. By pooling knowledge and resources, space is created for innovative projects that combat food waste and contribute to a fair and inclusive transition.
“Food waste is not an individual problem, but a systemic one. Through innovation and collaboration, we can make a difference. Think of milk that stays fresh longer thanks to aseptic packaging, clear policy goals that provide direction, and partnerships that return materials to the chain. Only by working together can we structurally reduce food loss and build a more sustainable food system”, says Jovana Mitrovic, Head of Public Affairs and Government Relations at Tetra Pak Benelux and France.
Want to learn more? Download the full whitepaper here.
