The British Standards Institution (BSI) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) have published the first internationally recognised management system standard for food loss and waste, giving operators across the food supply chain a single framework to monitor, reduce and report the material stream.

The standard — Food loss and waste management system – Requirements for the prevention and minimisation of food loss and waste across the food supply chain (BS ISO 20001) — sets out a management system standard (MSS) that any organisation in the food sector can implement. It applies from farm to plate: farmers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and food service providers of all sizes can build its requirements into daily operations.

The framework is built for the full excess-food stream, not just disposal. It enables businesses to plan, implement and document processes to monitor, reduce and report excess food and food loss and waste (FLW) — the precursor material that otherwise flows to redistribution, animal feed or residual treatment.

BSI describes the document as the first internationally recognised management system standard to give organisations a globally standardised framework to manage, prevent and reduce excess food and FLW. Development drew on global experts from more than 30 countries, including the environmental action NGO WRAP, and builds on existing measurement and reporting approaches — notably WRAP's methodologies developed with industry in the UK and internationally.

Organisations can deploy the standard in two ways. They can use it as a framework for continual improvement, or assess their progress against its requirements. Either route gives them a consistent method to track performance and report it credibly to regulators, customers and investors — a reporting function that matters as disclosure expectations on food waste tighten across jurisdictions.

Emily Field, Food Sector Lead at BSI, framed the launch against rising activity in the sector. "Across the food supply chain, there is growing ambition and action to tackle food loss and waste," she said.

Field said the new standard builds on existing measurement and reporting approaches by providing a "consistent, globally applicable framework" for organisations. "Ultimately, it helps embed food loss and waste reduction into the way an organisation operates," she explained.

"Importantly, it also provides a common language for communicating progress to regulators, customers and investors, helping to build trust and contribute to a more food-secure and sustainable world," Field added.

Catherine David, WRAP CEO, called the standard an "important step" forward for action on food loss and waste. "A recognised international standard brings greater focus to organisations systematically monitoring and managing their food loss and waste, helping to make this a more established part of how they operate," David said.

The standard is designed to complement, not replace, existing guidance and approaches. For operators already reporting under WRAP-linked protocols or national food waste reduction commitments, BS ISO 20001 offers a certifiable management system layer on top of those measurement practices.

What happens next depends on uptake. The milestone to track is adoption: how quickly food manufacturers, retailers and distributors move to implement and certify against BS ISO 20001, and whether regulators and investors begin referencing the standard in reporting requirements and due diligence frameworks.