Policies for healthy and sustainable diets

WP 7.4 addressed the role of public policies in promoting healthy and sustainable diets, focusing on regulatory, institutional and operational challenges within food systems.

The Work Package adopted an interdisciplinary approach integrating law, economics, political science and public health, with the objective of strengthening the connection between scientific evidence, decision-making processes and territorial practices.

Research activities included the mapping and comparative analysis of existing food policies, together with the development of tools supporting policy design and evaluation. A major outcome was the expansion of an open-access database on European food policies, which significantly increased the number of mapped policies and now provides a robust empirical basis for comparative analysis, identification of policy gaps and assessment of policy effectiveness at both European and national levels.

A second research line focused on the governance of food waste. Legal and empirical analyses highlighted the fragmentation of existing regulatory frameworks and the lack of harmonised definitions, which limit the ability to monitor and prevent food waste across the supply chain. This work combined comparative legal studies with stakeholder engagement, particularly involving food sector companies.

Additional research addressed broader aspects of food policy design and evaluation. Analytical models were developed to assess the sustainability performance of food businesses by integrating economic, behavioural and environmental dimensions. New data infrastructures were also established to estimate dietary patterns and nutritional intake at the population level, supporting evidence-based policy development.

Further contributions examined the role of regulation, consumer protection and social dimensions, including gender perspectives, in shaping more equitable and sustainable food systems. These analyses reinforced the need for coherent regulatory frameworks capable of addressing the complexity of food systems while ensuring fairness and accessibility.

WP 7.4 contributed to improving the quality, coherence and effectiveness of policies for healthy and sustainable diets, providing data infrastructures, analytical models and operational tools to support public decision-makers.