- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Murcia Today Alicante Today
Date Published: 11/10/2021
ARCHIVED - Spain promotes sale of ugly food to reduce waste
Three out of four households in Spain regularly throw away food
The Council of Ministers approved a draft law on Monday October 11 to combat food waste that will force supermarkets and grocery stores to promote the sale of “ugly, imperfect or unsightly” produce that is still safe to consume, as well as to encourage the sale of local and organic food and bulk buying. The new project for the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste consists of 15 articles whose main aim is to drastically reduce the amount of food thrown out in Spain.
“There is no food product more expensive than the one that ends up in the garbage, than the one that is wasted,” according to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas.
The Minister highlighted the fact that Spanish households threw away more than 1.3 million kilos of uneaten food in 2020, 31 kilograms per litre per capita. Given that the evidence shows that three out of four households in Spain regularly waste food, Mr Planas added that there is a moral and ethical obligation also when 1.6 billion people on the planet are “malnourished”.
The legislative initiative aims to establish a “new perspective” of good practices at every stage in production, news that will come as music to the ears of banana growers on the Canary Island of La Palma, many of whom have had their entire harvest refused at market due to its unsightly appearance following the volcanic eruption.
With the new law, the Spanish Government will ratify its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, which expressly states its aspiration to halve food waste per citizen in the world.
In addition to pushing the sale and consumption of ‘ugly’ food, the legislation will require food industries, commercial establishments, hotels and restaurants to sign agreements with non-profit organisations and food banks to donate any unused produce. Anything not suitable for human consumption will be used for animal feed or other agricultural by-products.
In addition, the law includes a requirement that stores of more than 400 square metres have a dedicated aisle or corner dedicated to the more unsightly food, or items close to their sell-by date. For hotels and restaurants, customers that have not finished their meals must be offered the option of taking the left-overs home, and a reusable container provided free of charge. Furthermore, this service will need to be prominently displayed in the establishment and restaurants will have to account for the amount of food wastage on their premises annually.
There will be four levels of sanctions for non-adherence to the legislation, with fines ranging from 6,001 to 150,000 euros.
Regarding out-of-date food, the Government will adopt public policies to promote changing the use of best-before dates to combat waste, in line with the European Union’s established criteria on the matter.
With the new bill, the minister explained, Spain has become the third country in the EU to legislate on food waste, after France and Italy.
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