Shops and restaurants face new food-waste duties under Swedish proposal
Shops, restaurants and public kitchens would have to do more to help customers avoid wasting food under proposals for new Swedish rules from June 2027.
The joint proposal, presented by the food, environmental and agriculture agencies, would require everyone handling food to take steps to prevent it becoming waste.
A separate duty to inform customers about making better use of food would cover all public meal services and private food shops, restaurants and large kitchens with at least ten employees. The measures and start date remain proposals.
The agencies are responding to tougher EU targets for 2030: a 30% per-person reduction in waste from wholesalers, shops, restaurants, public kitchens and households, and a 10% reduction in food manufacturing.
They say the current 81 kilograms per person from shops, restaurants and households needs to fall to 63 kilograms. This measure includes inedible parts such as peels, bones and coffee grounds, as well as food that could have been eaten.
Almost three-quarters of household food waste is inedible, the agencies say, so households alone cannot deliver the required reduction. They also propose more information, an industry forum and further work on support for businesses.
The agencies acknowledge that it is uncertain whether the package will be enough to meet the targets.
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