Our Story

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) is an industry association representing over 9 000 member companies in the Consumer Goods, Retail and Services (FMCG) sector, which is one of the largest employers in South Africa providing employment to more than 1.2 million people and contributes up to 20% of the national GDP.

The Food Safety & Sustainability Initiative (FSSI) is a division of the CGCSA, which provides thought leadership, guidance and technical support on regulatory aspects of the FMCG value chain (including retail and technical services) with focus on food safety, quality, nutrition, health and wellness and related matters.

The South African Food Loss and Waste Initiative is an initiative of the CGCSA which aims to prevent and reduce food loss and waste by half by 2030. The initiative was launched on the 29th of September 2020, as an outcome of a series of dialogues that involved over 500 stakeholders in the South African food value chain.

The two supporting government departments are the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).

International climate action NGO Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has received catalytic funding from Rainier Climate, supporting the essential work of WRAP and partners in tackling food loss and waste through existing Voluntary Agreements in Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa and to create a new food waste voluntary agreement in Brazil.

The funding covers ongoing work with money allocated to each nation to increase the systemic Target-Measure-Act approach to reduce food waste across supply chains and in the home, which globally are responsible for around 10% of all Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.

To collectively commit to:

Our Advisory Committee guides and advises the CGCSA on the implementation of the South African Food Loss and Waste Initiative and associated activities. The Committee ensures that the Initiative has effective support and guidance to substantially prevent and reduce food loss and waste in South Africa.

The Committee is designed to present the signatories of the Initiative and represent the sector in which they operate.

Meet Our Advisory Committe

To respond to the current food waste and food security dilemma in South Africa:

South Africa generates an estimated 10.3 million tonnes 1 of food waste per annum (45% of available food supply entering the food value chain).

12% of South Africa's households experience hunger (about 2.1 million people) and 21% have inadequate access to food 2. More than 62% of children experience multidimensional poverty 3.

Every tonne of edible surplus food could make an estimated 40 004 meals.

Waste food equals wasted water and energy, increased methane emiisions, and impact on biodiversity.

The South African Food Loss and Waste Initiative is deeply embedded across the entire food supply chain, from primary producers right through to retailers.

We collaborate closely with our signatories, helping them to pinpoint food waste hotspots, stay informed about best practices, and ensure their targets align with South African legislation and Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.

Beyond the direct supply chain, we also partner with a wide range of essential organisations, including those adjacent to the food supply chain, solutions providers, research institutions, and vital food rescue organisations, all working together towards a common goal of reducing food loss and waste in South Africa.

Core signatory growth and representation

  • The SA FLWI signatory base has grown from 16 in 2020 to 135 in 2025. The growth and diversity of signatories indicates that the SA FLWI is seen as an initiative that is valuable to a broad range of stakeholders in the South African food value chain.
  • A 2025 analysis of the representation of the 2024 core signatory 1 base, which was conducted by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), has shown that our signatories represent approximately 44% of the formal food value chain in South Africa. All the main formal food retailers are represented. Approximately 50% of the formal food processing and manufacturing sector and 54% of the main restaurant/QSR sector are represented. There is currently low representation in the agriculture and fishing and food service sectors. This analysis is being used to inform a targeted core signatory recruitment strategy in 2025.
  • Social, environmental and financial business case development is being contracted to help support retention and recruitment of signatories.

Core signatory measurement, reporting and action

  • A standardised and internationally harmonised food loss and waste measurement and reporting tool was developed in 2023, and core signatories are measuring the FLW in their businesses. South Africa is the first country to translate this reporting tool into a secure online reporting platform that allows core signatories to report and track their data over time.
  • Core signatories 1 have been using the 'target-measure-act' approach to develop internal action plans to prevent and reduce waste in line with the food utilisation hierarchy.
  • Data collected from 2021 to 2023 has been analysed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to help inform a baseline for the SA FLWI in 2025. Social and environmental conversion factors development is being contracted to convert this data into social and environmental metrics.
  • Research has been undertaken to identify two impact interventions to prevent and reduce FLW at scale in South Africa in 2025/2026.

Citizen campaigns

  • The SA FLWI launched its first ever household food waste campaign, End Food Waste ZA, this year.
  • A campaign landing page and social media channels (Facebook and Instagram) were launched at beginning of August:

    Campaign landing page:

    https://foodwaste.cgcsa.co.za/

    Instagram:

    @endfoodwasteza

    Facebook:

    End Food Waste ZA
  • The metrics being tracked show excellent engagement over a short period of time.
  • Research is underway to inform a citizen behaviour change campaign in 2026.

Guidelines & standards

  • Core and associate signatories [2] have worked together to develop a Food Donations Best Practice Guideline to help facilitate the donation of surplus food that is fit for human consumption to people in need. These guidelines were first published in 2022, were updated in 2023 and are being updated again this year.
  • These have been used to draft a national Food Donation and Redistribution Best Practice Standard through the South African Bureau of Standards, which will help support food donations in South Africa.
  • TA SA FLWI Animal Feed Working Group has been established to develop Guidelines to support the safe and effective use of food by-product for animal feed.

Policy & legislation

  • Advocacy to address policy gaps in this area continues especially with regards to the liability that is carried by food donors under the South African Consumer Protection Act, in partnership with Food Forward SA, an associate signatory, in collaboration with the CGCSA and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic in the United States.
  • The National Strategy for Reducing Food Losses and Waste was published on the 29th of August 2025 and this strategy references and states the importance of the SA FLWI in reducing food loss and waste in South Africa.
  • TA SA FLWI Animal Feed Working Group has been established to develop Guidelines to support the safe and effective use of food by-product for animal feed.