Emilia-Romagna Region and agro-food centres together against food waste

Last 5th May during Macfrut (the largest fruit and vegetables exhibition in Italy), Emilia-Romagna region hosted a meeting among the actors involved in a model system for the innovation against food waste.

The participants in the round table were charities from Bologna, Parma and Rimini, the executive directors of Parma and Rimini agro-food centres, and also Producer organisations representatives. The focus was a best practice implemented in Emilia-Romagna and acknowledged at European level: the digitalization of the withdrawal and free distribution of fruit and vegetables to charities, as provided for in CMO Regulation (1308/2013) for crisis prevention.

The protagonists of the video

Public institutions, Producer organizations, charities and agro-food centres: these are the players in this example of cooperation where everybody wins, as well explained in a video filmed in the agro-food centres of Parma (Cal) and Rimini (Caar) during the weekly delivery and distribution of fruit and vegetables. The success of this model depends on the capacity of efficiently adjusting the supply of surplus products to meet the material aid.

S.I.R platform

For over 10 years the S.I.R (Sistema Informatico Ritiri) implemented by the Region has allowed to donate the withdrawn food to accredited charity organizations and to constantly track the amount of products. The platform simplifies the procedure, eases the relationships and makes fresh products quickly available for all the charities. All the withdrawal steps can be followed in real time, thus ensuring a high degree. of transparency, efficiency and traceability.

The numbers

Since 2012 to date, hundreds of tons of high quality fresh product have been donated to over 150.000 people, through an extensive network of 400 among organizations and associations, and this resulted in a 60 kg per-capita consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables for low-income groups of population.

Lowinfood project

Thanks to the innovation in food waste prevention, Emilia-Romagna Region was recognized as reference partner in Lowinfood project funded by the European Commission (call RUR-07-2020, Horizon 2020 programme), aiming at identify the best innovations against food loss and waste in four value chains: fruit and vegetables, bakery, fish and consumers (food service and household consumption).

The final goal is the replication of our innovation in other European region or countries.

The agro-food centres and the sympathetic logistics

For over a year, Cal Parma has become a logistic partner in this system, making available its facilities for fruit and vegetables delivery and distribution, with the Region as the supervisor of the process. Caar Rimini is going to start shortly a similar sympathetic logistics project.

Transportation costs to the distribution point are covered by the EU, while all the controls are carried out by Emilia-Romagna Region, which facilitates as well the efficiency of the distribution process in the assigned geographical area.