France Bans Supermarket Food Waste

Food waste has been a controversial topic around the world for decades. It is estimated that more than 1.3 million tonnes of that are thrown away every year, even though many people die from food shortages and poor nutrition every single day.

Attempts have been made for several years to reduce this unnecessary dumping of food, but research on the subject still shows that a massive amount of food ends up as waste every year.

French initiative

The biggest source of criticism of large food distributors is that they often put a significant amount of the food they  sell as waste instead of donating it to those in need. Last year, 35-year-old Arash Derambarsh proposed a law that would prevent supermarkets from throwing away unsold food.

The idea put forward by Arash was this: companies would donate their remaining food to charities and food banks so that it could be distributed to people in need of food.

After a massive campaign – supported by consumers and anti-poverty activists – the  French Senate unanimously passed that law, which will help thousands of homeless people.

France is the first country in the world where it is illegal to throw away food. A law passed by the Senate will prevent supermarkets from both wasting and destroying their food.

Stores larger than 4oo square feet will have to sign a donation agreement with charities. Failure to do so will result in a fine of up to € 75,000 and a two-year prison sentence.

This was good news for employees of charitable organizations, as in this way the organizations get better quality and more varied food to distribute.

Jacques Bailet, in charge of the French food banking network, said he hoped the law would increase donations of vegetables, fruit and meat. These products sold by supermarkets are in the greatest demand.

Food collection and storage is handled by registered charities and food banks, which hope to increase their staff to gain more efficiency to handle the increased amount of food.

In addition to throwing food away, the law punishes supermarkets that intentionally destroy food. This is, in fact, an increasingly common practice. This is done so that people do not dump rubbish and eat the food they find in it.

Unfortunately, the number of families, students and the unemployed looking for food that is still close to the end date of rubbish has risen in recent years.

Another disadvantage here is that many places spray food with bleach after it has been thrown away, as they say this can prevent food poisoning as a result of eating food taken from the trash.

Some distributors, on the other hand, store food in private warehouses, from which garbage trucks retrieve it later.

What are the following challenges for charities?

After this first victory, charities are preparing to face the challenges that will arise as a result of changing the law.

First, organizations need to find more volunteers who can help manage and distribute food. They also need to procure more trucks, storage space and refrigerators so that organizations can respond to the large increase in donations.

On the other hand, an important aim is to persuade the EU to do the same for other Member States.

Food waste in France is distributed as follows: 11% of waste comes from shops, 67% from consumers and 15% from restaurants. The authors of this initiative therefore understand that the work on food waste is far from complete.

However, with this law, it can be said that one of the most important steps towards a knowledge-based and sustainable society has been taken.

Bailet assures that already a 15% increase in donations from supermarkets could help give people 10 million more plate dishes every single year.

The longer-term dream is for several countries to introduce a similar law on food waste reduction. Above all, the aim is to enable countries to feed the people in need.