The main scope of the ROSETTA project “Reducing food waste due to marketing standards through alternative market access” is to address and reduce food waste. Particularly by focusing on waste generated by the use of marketing standards in the food industry.

The project aims to investigate the extent of food waste attributed to marketing standards, enhance understanding of the underlying causes, and develop effective solutions to prevent and reduce such waste. It involves a multidisciplinary research approach, engaging various stakeholders in the food value chain.

Objectives of the ROSETTA project:

• Estimating the amount of food waste generated by the application of marketing standards throughout the entire food value chain.
• Co-defining and validating sustainable solutions for valorizing waste generated by marketing standards.
• Assessing and addressing trade-offs associated with the implementation of these solutions.
• Validating and optimizing selected solutions to reduce food waste by 60 % – 80 % by alternative market access for suboptimal foods, including processing and other strategies.
• Helping to revise marketing standards and support future policy development.

Activities of ROSETTA Project:

• Analyzing the existing marketing standards for food commodities at various levels and assessing the reasons for the establishment of these standards.
• Developing an operational plan for pilot experiments in five use cases across EU countries, led by private marketing standards owners, representing four food commodities, focusing on fruit & vegetables, cereals, dairy, and meat.
• Conducting a comparative analysis of data collected from lab and field research, combined with LCSA studies.
• Providing insights for knowledge transfer and identification of opportunities for social learning. These will be used to develop replication guidelines and policy recommendations.

The project consortium consists of 17 partners from Greece, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Slovakia, Austria, Poland and Spain. It will be led by Q-PLAN INTERNATIONAL ADVISORS (Greece).