Food and nutrition

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) promotes the healthy enjoyment of food. An important basis for this is providing information about a healthy diet at all stages of life, for example via the National Action Plan "IN FORM – German national initiative to promote healthy diets and physical activity".

Another requirement is that the labelling and presentation of foodstuffs must always be accurate, transparent and comprehensible. In order to protect valuable resources, the BMEL is involved in campaigning against food waste and fosters the sustainable consuption of food products.

Overview of topics

Healthy diet

Consumers in Germany have a wide range of high quality and healthy foods to choose from. Food is precious and can taste wonderful. Healthy eating is a pleasure – and a properly balanced diet is the best recipe for maintaining optimum health.

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Food labelling

Labels with information about the ingredients and properties of a foodstuff serve to protect consumers and assist them in making better-informed choices. People want clarity on certain issues. Does the product contain any additives, allergens or genetically modified organisms? How much energy, sugar, fat and salt does the foodstuff provide?

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Food waste

To reduce the amount of food waste in Germany significantly is one aim of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). It has the objective to reach as many consumers as possible and reduce food waste with joint effort and a national strategy along the entire chain.

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Sustainable consumption

With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, the United Nations agreed on global sustainability goals (SDGs). In the following, we focus on sustainable development goal 12, which is to "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns", and highlight some related activities that the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculure (BMEL) is carrying out.

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Recommendations

The National Reduction and Innovation Strategy for Sugar, Fats and Salt in Processed Foods   (topic:reduction-strategy)

Processed foods have become part of a modern lifestyle. Quite often, they tend to be high in sugar, fats and salt. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) wants to support consumers in choosing a health-promoting diet and ensure that processed foods become healthier.

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German regulations on the import of food (topic:food-controls)

There are a number of national and EU regulations that apply regarding the import of food to Germany

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