Spain opens consultation on four-year food-loss and waste plan

Spain’s agriculture ministry has opened public consultation on a draft national strategy to prevent and reduce food losses and waste. The ministry announced the process on 23 October; the separate participation notice lists a consultation window from 26 October to 24 November 2026. The proposed plan covers 2026–2030 and is one of the instruments required under Spain’s Law 1/2025 on preventing food losses and waste.

The draft is intended to set the general direction of national policy, alongside guidance and a structure for programmes that each autonomous community must prepare. It would also establish minimum objectives for preventing food losses. The ministry said the regional programmes should analyse the situation in their territory, set objectives and identify measures to meet them. The draft is therefore a framework for later regional planning, not a set of already approved local targets.

The proposed strategy is organized over four years and divides its measures into two biennial periods. The ministry says this structure is meant to support planning and progressive monitoring. The consultation offers citizens, organizations and associations an opportunity to comment on the draft before it is finalized. The ministry has published a draft plan and a form for submitting observations; the consultation page specifies the opening and closing dates.

The plan’s stated priorities include making better use of food, with human consumption given priority, and improving the efficient management of resources. It also seeks more collaboration and coordination among public administrations and other actors through concrete measures. These are policy aims in a draft document; the announcement does not quantify expected reductions in tonnes of food waste or set an outcome already achieved.

Implementation responsibilities are split between national and regional authorities. The ministry says it is working with the autonomous communities and relevant departments on a national control plan. Regional governments are responsible for monitoring application of the law in their territories. The control plan is to define broad objectives and priorities for competent authorities’ inspection and oversight work and is to be reviewed at least every four years.

The public comment period is a procedural step, not adoption of the strategy. The draft will be shaped through the consultation before the ministry completes the plan. As of the announcement, the proposed 2026–2030 framework, its regional guidance and its objectives remain proposals. The public notice directs interested parties to submit comments during the stated window; it does not report results from the consultation or claim that food losses have already fallen.