French supermarkets are now banned from throwing away or destroying unsold food
According to a new French law, supermarkets spread across the country will now no longer be able to throw away or spoil unsold food. The stores have been ordered to donate all unwanted and extra food items to charitable organisations and food banks. This makes France the first country in the world to do so.
The new law has been unanimously passed in the French senate and has been welcomed by food banks and charities, who will now work with more volunteers, warehouses, and vehicles to deal with the extra food to ensure that it reaches the needy.
“Most importantly, because supermarkets will be obliged to sign a donation deal with charities, we’ll be able to increase the quality and diversity of food we get and distribute. In terms of nutritional balance, we currently have a deficit of meat and a lack of fruit and vegetables. This will hopefully allow us to push for those products,” Jacques Bailet, head of Banques Alimentaires, a network of French food banks told The Guardian.
This will also stop supermarkets from deliberately destroying food using bleach. Supermarkets earlier applied bleach on food items to stop the growing numbers of families, students, unemployed and homeless people foraging into the bins and feed themselves.
Europe, over the past decade, has been finding creative ways to handle food wastage and feed their homeless. Meanwhile, Denmark has also announced an addition of two more food waste supermarkets in its fight against hunger and food wastage. In these food waste supermarkets, food products are sold at rates 30-50 percent cheaper than they would normally cost, Independent reports.
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