On September 5th 2017, the expert forum "Effective reduction of food waste - achieving more together" took place in Berlin. The forum aimed to set an impulse to discuss and further develop ideas and approaches for the prevention of food waste and losses through scientific preparation and an interactive exchange with stakeholders from the entire food value chain. This report presents the status quo of the discussion on food waste that was prepared prior to the event. The identified causes of food waste and losses are also outlined. Based on these, the five core topics were discussed with the experts in five interactive workshops during the expert forum.