Less food waste in Dutch supermarkets

Meierijstad, 14 March 2022 – On average, 98.4% of all food and beverages available in Dutch supermarkets in 2020 was actually sold; the remaining 1.6% did not reach consumers (measured by weight in kilogrammes). That means 3.6% less food was wasted* by supermarkets than in 2018. This is the conclusion of research carried out by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) for Centraal Bureau Levensmiddelenhandel [Central Food Trade Office] (CBL) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality under the umbrella of the Samen Tegen Voedselverspilling [Food Waste Free United] foundation. Five Dutch supermarket chains participated in the project on the basis of self-reporting: Albert Heijn, Aldi, Jumbo, Lidl and PLUS. Together they represent almost 80% of the Dutch market.

The 1.6% of unsold products in supermarkets in 2020 were distributed across five product categories. The distribution was almost identical to the figures for 2018.

 

Food waste within the product categories

To take targeted measures against food waste, it is important to know the amount of waste in each product category. The proportion of unsold products in relation to purchase volumes per product category was as follows:

·         bread, part baked bread and pastries: 7.8% (compared to 7.7% in 2018)

·         fresh meat and fresh fish: 2.4% (2.9% in 2018)

·         potatoes, vegetables and fruit: 2.4% (2.7% in 2018)

·         dairy products, eggs and chilled ready-to-eat products: 1.2% (1.4% in 2018)

·         other fresh and long-life products: 0.4% (0.4% in 2018)

Use of unsold products

*For the purposes of this research, ‘food waste’ refers to products that do not reach consumers. These waste streams are often used for other purposes, such as animal feed, fermentation and incineration. For example, two-thirds of unsold fresh bread, part baked bread and pastries are processed into high-grade animal feed.

Role of the supermarket in a waste-free supply chain

Despite higher sales in 2020 due to COVID-19, the amount of food wasted in 2020 clearly decreased compared to 2018. “This shows that the various waste-free initiatives taken by supermarket chains in 2019 and 2020 are bearing fruit,” says Toine Timmermans, director of the Food Waste Free United foundation. “Supermarkets play an important role in reducing food waste, not only individually but also as part of the supply chain, for example by making sustainable agreements with their suppliers, adapting quality standards, using new technologies and raising consumer awareness.”

Jennifer Muller, Sustainability Manager at CBL, is happy with the results of the self-reports: “Dutch supermarkets are still leading the way in this respect worldwide. The results of the research reveal which product categories can achieve the best results and this enables the supermarkets to work towards a sector-wide target: 50% less food waste by 2030.”

View the infographic with solutions implemented by supermarkets to reduce food waste.

 

Food waste self-reports per sector

In 2020, Dutch supermarkets achieved a first when they made their food waste streams transparent. Thanks to this research, we now have a better understanding of food waste in the supermarket sector. The supermarket chains voluntarily self-reported their food waste and provided the anonymised data to WUR. WUR performed a data analysis and extrapolated the results to the entire Dutch market. Food Waste Free United is now working with WUR to analyse more links in the supply chain so that more targeted measures can be taken against food waste. More and more food chain sectors are participating in this research.

 

The research is an initiative of the CBL and part of the implementation agenda of the Food Waste Free United foundation. The research is being conducted by Wageningen Food & Biobased Research and is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

Food Waste Free United

The Food Waste Free United foundation is a movement established to combine and accelerate all important initiatives and expertise for a waste-free Netherlands. In this initiative, companies throughout the entire supply chain, knowledge institutions, government bodies and social organisations are working together to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3: to reduce food loss and waste by half by 2030 (baseline 2015). The foundation has developed a joint and systematic approach to reduce food waste in the Netherlands by 1 billion kilos annually, from farm to fork. The key organisations in the foundation are: Food Tech Brainport, Municipality of Meierijstad, Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Province of Noord-Brabant, Rabobank, Dutch Nutrition Centre, and Wageningen University & Research. Our work is supported by Regio Deal Noordoost Brabant.

Note for editors:

For further information, journalists are asked to contact:

·         Food Waste Free United foundation – Magreet Schijvens, +31 (0)6 21298720/ magreet@samentegenvoedselverspilling.nl

·         CBL – Lisa Martis, +31 (0)6 52338597

·         Wageningen University & Research – Martijntje Vollebregt, +31 (0)6 23373831

 

Figure 1: Food waste in supermarkets per product group. Bread and pastries account for the largest share (35.2%), followed by potatoes, vegetables and fruit (31.9%). Fresh meat and fresh fish produce the least amount of waste (7.2%).

About the CBL

The CBL represents the interests of the supermarket sector and food service companies in the Netherlands. Food trade accounts for more than 10% of the Gross National Product. The industry employs over 300,000 people and is one of the largest employers in the Netherlands. Every day, four million consumers do their shopping in supermarkets represented by the CBL.

 

🟩 Bibliografía sobre la utilización en la publicidad de declaraciones de las propiedades saludables autorizadas en la UE

 

Texto completo: 

https://www.academia.edu/56943667/_Modalidades_de_utilizaci%C3%B3n_en_la_publicidad_de_declaraciones_de_las_propiedades_saludables_autorizadas_por_la_Comisi%C3%B3n_en_virtud_de_los_Reglamentos_n_983_2009_y_n_1024_2009_

🟩⬜🟥 Protection of food creations in Italy

 

 

Introduction

The Italian IP framework makes a number of legal tools available in the context of food, including:

• patents for inventions of production methods and innovative food and food-related products;
• designs and models for the shape and presentation of food products; and
• copyright for layout and food lighting when a particular form of layout or lighting has creative value.

The choice of appropriate protection must be made on a case-by-case basis. Often, the possibility of using several legal frameworks cumulatively should also be considered, each for the particular kind of protection it can offer.

Ingredients and recipes

With regard to ingredients – and, in particular, additives – both patents and (often preferably) trade secrets are widely used in Italy and require great care to avoid loss of rights. Recipes can also be protected through confidentiality, since, if they are released, copyright protection is limited to their expression, but does not cover the idea.

Presentation and serving

When it is not possible to make use of designs and models (or shape trademarks) for the layout and presentation of products with an expressive value, it is always necessary to assess whether they can be ascribed to works protected by copyright (since article 2 of the Copyright Law contains a non-exhaustive, but only exemplifying, list), which can be protected only in the presence of creativity. If the means to achieve presentation and serving (and also lighting) of food are unique and capable of solving a technical problem in a non-trivial way, or at least can provide a particular efficacy or easiness of application or use to already-existing systems, patent protection may be used:

• for an innovative solution not within the reach of an expert in the field – as an invention, with a duration of 20 years; and
• for a particularly efficient shape – as a utility model, with a duration of 10 years.

Manufacturing

Even more important – especially in Italy – is the protection of manufacturing (and often also commercial) know-how. This must be taken care of not only in contentious contexts, but primarily in advance thereof. Strategic advice should be sought to establish the most appropriate protection choices, including through the registration of designs, models and trademarks, and for labelling and communication.

To this purpose, particular consideration should be given to the different parties involved in a contract – not only concerning the exploitation of the creations, but also in defining the respective rights of the different subjects who have contributed to them, often in different but complementary roles. This helps to avoid conflicts that could undermine the effective protection of their exploitation by unauthorised third parties.

Sources of infringement

Infringement may affect all rights that can be taken into account in the food sector, including:

• trademarks, protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications, including those relating to the shape of products and their packaging (also in the form of the increasingly frequent lookalike product);
• designs, models and patents; and
• forms of fraud and outright deception, which are becoming increasingly widespread on social media.

In fact, even for food creations, the rise of social media represents both opportunities and threats, which must be managed in the best possible way. On the one hand, they allow easier access to widespread recognition and diffusion, even for less structured subjects or those with fewer resources. On the other hand, however, they multiply the opportunities for copying and even parasitically exploiting the creations of others. Careful monitoring and cost-benefit assessments must be carried out in order to choose the most appropriate means of defending, contracting and exploiting assets in this field, which also requires a creative approach on the part of lawyers.

For further information on this topic please contact Cesare Galli at IP Law Galli by telephone (+39 02 5412 3094) or email (galli.mi@iplawgalli.it). The IP Law Galli website can be accessed at www.iplawgalli.it.

V MEDITERRANEAN FORUM INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS (Online) - 8th October 2021: THE CHALLENGE OF THE FIGHT AGAINST FOOD WASTE AND AGRIFOOD CHAIN

 Universidad de Valladolid. España 

Costs and results of the new sustainability policies 

ESPAÑA 2050

Dirección: Esther Muñiz Espada. Universidad de Valladolid. España: mariaesther.muniz@uva.es

Coordinadora: Begoña González Acebes. Universidad de Valladolid. España.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MzIwODcwMWEtNjRkYy00YTZmLTgxOWUtZWRhMDZjYjdmMjhm%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%225f2a1fdf-b755-40df-8d23-5c8d19455375%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%224705b0f0-f774-443a-bd1d-a2e05b9bfeed%22%7d

https://cutt.ly/WEfN5FG

 

 

 

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Roman Budzinowski, Poznan University, Poland.

Roland Norer, Luzern University, Swissland.

Luigi Russo, Ferrara University, Italy.

José Martinez, Göttingen University, Germany.

Alessandra Di Lauro, Pisa University, Italy.

 

Isabelle Pingel, Sorbonne University, Paris I, France

8th October 2021

10.00 hs. Opening session

Antonio Largo Cabrerizo, Excmo. y Magfco. Sr. Rector de la Universidad de Valladolid.

Paloma García Galán, Secretaria General Técnica del Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación.

José Miguel Herrero Velasco, Director General de Industria Alimentaria, Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación.

Geoff Whittaker, President of European Council for Rural Law.

Rocio Perteguer Prieto, Directora de medio ambiente, consumidores y usuarios del Colegio de Registradores.

 

10.30 hs. First session. European Legal scheme on food waste and agrifood chain. Perspectives from different European Mediterranean countries.

Chairperson: Maria Grazia Alabrese, Pisa University.

España. Esther Muñiz, Valladolid University.

Francia. Luc Bodiguel, Research at CNRS. Nante.

Italia. Irene Canfora, Bari University – Luigi Russo, Ferrara University.

Portugal. Tiago Picão de Abreu, Lisboa.

 

12.00 hs. Second Session. Perspectives from others european countries.

Chairperson: Ludivine Petetin, Cardiff University.

José Martinez, Göttingen University. State failures in food policy - food wastage in Germany.

Aneta Suchon, Adam Mickiewicza University. Sustainable agriculture in the European Green Deal - selected legal issues.

Monika Król, Lodzki University. Climate impact on food security in context of food waste.

Paweł Wojciechowski, Warsaw University. The food waste and the date of minimum durability – possible legal solution.

Anna Kapała, Wrocław University. Legal aspects of local food systems.

Izabela Lipińska, Poznan University. Waste in the food supply chain - selected legal issues.

Łobos Kotowska, Katowice University. The cultivation contract as an instrument of agricultural law preventing food overproduction.

Łukasz Sokolowski, Adam Mickiewicza University. Some critical comments on the new polish Act on Counteracting Food Waste.

Katarzyna Leśkiewicz, Adam Mickiewicza University. Sanctions for wasting food in the light of Polish regulations - selected aspects.

Krzysztof Różański, Adam Mickiewicza University. Food waste regulations in Poland, with special reference to the situation in the beekeeping sector.

 

15.00 hs. Third session. Nuevo régimen sobre cadena alimentaria y desperdicio alimentario Una visión desde España.

Moderador: Asunción Marín, Universidad de Sevilla.

José Abellán, Presidente Foro Agrario. Desperdicio alimentario y desafios de la cadena alimentaria.

Leticia Bourges, SG CEDR. Utilidad y contradicciones en la noción del desperdicio alimentario.

Angel Sánchez, Universidad de La Rioja. Fin al agotamiento de las tierras y de las aguas: el desperdicio alimentario.

Benedetta Ubertazzi, Universidad Bicocca de Milán. Desperdicio alimentario y patrimonio cultural inmaterial de la UNESCO.

María Jose Cazorla, Universidad de Almería. La pérdida y desperdicio de alimentos hortícolas desde el campo a la mesa.

Pablo Amat, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. Integralidad en la cadena alimentaria.

Ana Carretero, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. El papel de los canales cortos en la reducción del desperdicio alimentario y la generación de residuos.

Maria Paz de la Cuesta, Hague University. Prácticas antidesperdicio en los supermercados y su repercusión en el resto de la cadena y en los proveedores.

Juan Carlos Gamazo, Universidad de Valladolid. Una aproximación desde la economía circular al desperdicio alimentario.

Noemí Serrano, Universidad de Valladolid. Excedente y desperdicio de alimentos como oportunidad para la creación de empleo. Las contribuciones al empleo de la estrategia “de la granja a la mesa”.

 

Closing Session

Roland Norer, DG CEDR, Luzern University.

🍩 Portugal: IP Court refuses DOUGHNUTS AND COMPANY trademark due to risk of confusion and lack of distinctiveness

 Introduction

An application for the Portuguese trademark DOUGHNUTS AND COMPANY was opposed on the grounds of its similarity two prior Portuguese trademarks (Figures 1 and 2). The opposition was successful and the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) refused the application on the grounds of likelihood of confusion. The decision was confirmed by the IP Court, but on slightly different grounds. The IP Court decision was published in the IP Journal on 7 September 2021.

​

Figure 1: Portuguese Trademark No. 316988

​

Figure 2: Portuguese Trademark No. 395368

Facts

On 22 April 2020 an application for the Portuguese trademark DOUGHNUTS AND COMPANY (No. 641400) was filed for "dough threads [doughnuts]; mixtures for dough threads [doughnuts]" in Class 30. On 30 June 2020 the company Bimbo Donuts – Iberia SA opposed the application on the grounds of likelihood of confusion with its prior Portuguese trademarks, both covering pastry and bakery products in Class 30:

• No. 316988, applied for on 9 May 1996 (Figure 1); and
• No. 395368, applied for on 10 November 2005 (Figure 2).

PTO

On 12 October 2020 the PTO refused the application, concluding that the mark DOUGHNUTS AND COMPANY reproduced the predominant elements of the opponent's trademarks, therefore generating a risk of confusion. The PTO also mentioned that even if a trademark is referred to by consumers as a generic designation, such trademark preserves its distinctiveness as long as it is also perceived as identifying the commercial origin of certain products, allowing its distinction from other products.

The PTO also stated that the opponent's trademarks were well-known trademarks and that the registration of DOUGHNUTS AND COMPANY would enable the applicant to unduly benefit from the opponent's reputation and lead to unfair competition actions.

IP Court

The applicant filed an appeal with the IP Court. However, on 12 May 2021, the Court dismissed the appeal. The Court shared the PTO's view that the mark DOUGHNUTS AND COMPANY reproduced the predominant elements of the opponent's trademarks, making the conflicting trademarks graphically, aurally and conceptually confusingly similar.

In fact, according to the Court, while "doughnuts" is generic and descriptive, the element "and company" is commonly used in commerce. Therefore, it held that the mark DOUGHNUTS AND COMPANY should be refused in any case on absolute grounds for being devoid of any distinctive character.

For further information on this topic please contact Paulo Monteverde or Joana Cunha Reis at Baptista Monteverde & Associados by telephone (+351 213 806 530) or email (paulo.monteverde@bma.pt or joana.reis@bma.pt). The Baptista Monteverde & Associados website can be accessed at www.bma.pt.

"Progresa en América Latina la Regulación del uso industrial de Cáñamo (Cannabis) en alimentos y suplementos"

 

´

Introducción

Luego de 60 años de rechazo, de tres años de revisión científica de la OMS y de dos años de discusiones diplomáticas, el 2 de diciembre 2020, la ONU reconoció las propiedades terapéuticas de la flor de cannabis. Por decisión del organismo multilateral, el cannabis para uso medicinal fue retirado de la lista IV de la Convención sobre drogas de 1961.

Este avance ha permitido su despenalización para su uso terapéutico en varios países de Latinoamérica y, paralelamente, se ha identificado la extraordinaria versatilidad industrial del cáñamo no psicoactivo que consiste en aceites, resinas, tinturas, extractos crudos u otras innovaciones producto del desarrollo tecnológico, obtenidas del cannabis no psicoactivo o cáñamo, con un contenido de THC inferior al 1%, incluyendo, cannabinoides, isómeros, ácidos, terpenos, sales y sales de isómeros, obtenido del material vegetal como tallos, semillas, cáscaras de semillas, material leñoso, u otro material foliar como biomasa.

En la actualidad de es de gran interés el uso de los derivados  como materia prima en la industria alimentaria (ver Figura 1), una vez que se ha comprobado que las semillas de cáñamo y sus derivados (como el aceite, y la harina) presentan un contenido en: Ácidos grasos poliinsaturados (PUFAs) con bajas concentraciones de ácidos grasos saturados; Proteínas con un contenido excepcional de aminoácidos que contienen azufre, es decir, metionina, cisteína y arginina, además de su contenido de vitaminas y minerales, lo que le confiere un gran valor nutricional utilidad en la industria de alimentos. 

El reconocimiento de sus potencialidades para su uso en alimentos y suplementos es un tema que está actualmente en discusión, considerando que al ser productos destinados al consumo humano son de interés sanitario para las autoridades sanitarias nacionales y debe ser regulado. En este sentido, Latinoamérica presenta avances importantes en esta materia, países como Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Chile o Paraguay han desarrollado con diferentes grados progresos o están desarrollando como Argentina, normativas que autorizan el uso industrial de cáñamo en alimentos, bebidas y suplementos alimenticios.

Ver artículo íntegro en:

https://www.academia.edu/50970297/Progresa_en_Am%C3%A9rica_Latina_la_Regulaci%C3%B3n_del_uso_industrial_de_C%C3%A1%C3%B1amo_Cannabis_en_alimentos_y_suplementos

Artículo seleccionado por:

Asociación Iberoamericana para el Derecho Alimentario

✔️ 19 de octubre de 2021 - VIIº SEMINARIO INTERNACIONAL ALIMENTOS Y SALUD - UNA MIRADA AL FUTURO: SOSTENIBILIDAD, REGULACIONES Y TENDENCIAS

 

Fecha: 19 de octubre

Hora: 15:00 horas

Modalidad: Virtual

En el marco de la conmemoración de los 30 años de la Universidad ISALUD, la Maestría en Gestión de la Seguridad Alimentaria (MAGESA) lo invita a participar del VII° Seminario Internacional Alimentos y Salud “Una mirada al futuro: sostenibilidad, regulaciones y tendencias, una visión internacional”, que se desarrollará el martes 19 de octubre, 15 hs, en modalidad virtual.

El Seminario se desarrolla en el marco del convenio de cooperación entre la Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM) de España y la Universidad ISALUD de Argentina, y forma parte del Ciclo de Seminarios “Alimentos y Salud” premiado por la Fundación ArgenINTA en la categoría “Campañas de difusión y educación que promuevan los hábitos saludables, la innovación y sustentabilidad agroalimentaria”.

 

                                                Inscripción: 

https://www.isalud.edu.ar/inscripcion-a-actividad/seminario_internaciona_alimentos_salud

Información: 

https://www.isalud.edu.ar/actividad/seminario_internaciona_alimentos_salud

ARGENTINA: New resolution on geographical indications and appellations of origin

 

Existing regulations

Law 25,163 and Law 25,380 govern the following matters, respectively:

• geographical indications and appellations of origin for wines and wine-based spirits; and
• geographical indications and appellations of origin for agricultural and food products.

Law 25,380 sets out the two categories (ie, geographical indications and appellations of origin) as follows.

Section 1: The Geographical Indications and Appellations of Origin used for commercializing agricultural or food products either in their natural state, or conditioned or processed, shall be governed by the present law. Wines and wine-based spirits are excluded from this law and are regulated by a special regime.

Section 2: For the purposes of this law, the definitions shall be as follows:

a) Geographical Indication: The geographical name of a country, region, province, department, town, or area within its territory, which is known as place of extraction, production, or manufacturing of an agricultural or food product.

b) Appellation of Origin: The name of a region, province, department, district, town, or area within the national territory that is duly registered and is used for designating a product originating therein, and whose properties or characteristics are exclusively or essentially due to the geographical environment, which comprises natural and human factors.

Section 23 of Decree 274/2019 (related to unfair competition) provides as follows:

Prohibition of use: notwithstanding the provision of Laws Nos. 22,362 and its amendments, 24.425, 25,163, 25,380 and its amendment, and 26,355, a national or foreign appellation of origin shall not be used for identifying a product or service, if this product or service does not come from the respective zone. For this purpose, appellation of origin shall be understood as the geographical designation of a country, of a region or a specific place, which serves for designating a product or service originating therein, and whose particular properties or characteristics are due –exclusively or essentially- to the geographical environment, including both natural and human factors.

New resolution

In January 2021 the Secretariat for Food, Bioeconomy and Regional Development of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries issued Resolution 13/2021. This resolution updates the requirements for the recognition of geographical indications and appellations of origin of agricultural and food products, the registry in charge and the functions thereof. The resolution also includes a glossary of terms, which expressly states that geographical indications and appellations of origin of wines and wine-based spirits are governed by Law 25,163 and are therefore excluded from the new resolution.

For further information on this topic please contact Daniel R Zuccherino at Obligado & Cia by telephone (+54 11 4114 1100) or email (dzuccherino@obligado.com.ar). The Obligado & Cia website can be accessed at www.obligado.com.

🔔🔔🔔 Tercer encuentro del Conversatorio internacional - "ALERTAS ALIMENTARIAS" - 16 de junio de 2021

 

Invitación al tercer encuentro del Conversatorio internacional junto #UNRaf, gratuito y únicamente a distancia: 16 de junio de 2021 - 15:00 h. Argentina; 

20:00 h. España.

¡Cupos limitados!            

Inscripción: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfAF70BxyrZw3ph9BANUNqkTxZP9urc1DV4bjMWachJi79Fpg/viewform

www.assa.gov.ar/conversatorio  

INSCRIPCIÓN: Alertas alimentarias

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13qX1oLxNtPu25_kfy8aq9qJrQi4szYAN2hV_LrZbUVQ/viewform?edit_requested=true