The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) initiated a pilot data collection project on food waste in January 2023 with the objective to gather information and insights on food waste for future initiatives, and to support reporting on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 12.3.1(b), which measures the food waste index, as well as support the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2023. UNEP has reached out to various agencies in twenty-eight countries, including Ghana, Mauritius, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United States of America (USA). They were asked to provide their input and feedback to the data collection questionnaire by an initial designated deadline of 20 March 2023. However, upon request by some countries this deadline was extended. Attached to the invitation email were three key documents – an official invitation letter, a questionnaire on food waste, and a list of national experts participating in UNEP's Regional Food Waste Working Groups on behalf of their countries.