France to force big supermarkets to give away unsold food to charity

[Suzanimal]

Wow. The FB comments on this article were awful.

France’s parliament has pledged to crack down on a national epidemic of food waste by passing a law banning supermarkets destroying unsold food, instead obliging them to give it to charities or put it to other uses such as animal feed.

The national assembly voted unanimously on Thursday evening in favour of the measure, proposed by the Socialist deputy Guillaume Garot, a former food minister. “It’s scandalous to see bleach being poured into supermarket dustbins along with edible foods,” he said.

The law explicitly bans the practice of supermarkets deliberately spoiling unsold food so it cannot be eaten. Bigger supermarkets – those with a footprint of 400 sq m or more – will be obliged to sign formal contracts with charities by July next year, or face penalties including fines of up to €75,000 (£53,000) or two years in jail.

The measures are part of wider official efforts to halve the amount of food waste in the country by 2025. According to official estimates, the average French person throws out 20-30kg of food a year, at a combined national cost of up to €20bn.

The law will also introduce a programme of education about food waste in schools and businesses. It follows a measure in February to remove the best-before date on fresh foods.

The Fédération du Commerce et de la Distribution, which represents big supermarkets, criticised the plan. “The law is wrong in both target and intent, given the big stores represent only 5% of food waste but have these new obligations,” said Jacques Creyssel, head of the organisation. “They are already the pre-eminent food donors, with more than 4,500 stores having signed agreements with aid groups.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...rity?CMP=fb_gu

[Ronin Truth]

That'll keep food prices down.

[presence]

With the exception of infant formula, the laws that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) administers do not preclude the sale of food that is past the expiration date indicated on the label. FDA does not require food firms to place "expired by", "use by" or "best before" dates on food products. This information is entirely at the discretion of the manufacturer.

A principle of U.S. food law is that foods in U.S. commerce must be wholesome and fit for consumption. A "best by", "use by" or expiration date does not relieve a firm from this obligation. A product that is dangerous to consumers would be subject to potential action by FDA to remove it from commerce regardless of any date printed on a label.

http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transpar.../ucm210073.htm



When I live in the midwest there were second hand grocery stores that sold ONLY out of date pantry foods. Great for stuff like condiments; bags of chips etc. Sometimes you got some stale food, but most was pretty good and the prices were less than 50% retail.

[Zippyjuan]

"Sell by dates" are mostly arbitrary. It is not a date past which it is inedible (though things like milk or meats don't last much past their dates unless you freeze the meats). Some dates are to try to keep stock rotating. Egg "sell by date" is up to the company packing the eggs- they can make it whatever they want so you can't always be sure how fresh or old the eggs are. Eggland's Best says use their eggs within 30 days after the "sell by" date.

[dannno]

"Sell by dates" are mostly arbitrary. It is not a date past which it is inedible (though things like milk or meats don't last much past their dates unless you freeze the meats). Some dates are to try to keep stock rotating. Egg "sell by date" is up to the company packing the eggs- they can make it whatever they want so you can't always be sure how fresh or old the eggs are. Eggland's Best says use their eggs within 30 days after the "sell by" date.

You can test how fresh an egg is by placing it carefully in a glass of water - if it sinks quickly it is pretty fresh - if it sinks slowly it is starting to go bad, but is ok to eat. If it floats, throw it away, it's bad.

[Ronin Truth]

You can test how fresh an egg is by placing it carefully in a glass of water - if it sinks quickly it is pretty fresh - if it sinks slowly it is starting to go bad, but is ok to eat. If it floats, throw it away, it's bad.

Interesting info. Thanks!

[luctor-et-emergo]

Interesting info. Thanks!

If you like poached eggs, use the freshest ones. When you break them they will naturally hold together whereas old eggs tend to just go all stringy. I never knew why it sometimes worked better than other times until I read that..

[Ronin Truth]

If you like poached eggs, use the freshest ones. When you break them they will naturally hold together whereas old eggs tend to just go all stringy. I never knew why it sometimes worked better than other times until I read that..

My current fun egg cooking fascination is with steam cooking them in the shell, in a metal basket, "hard boiled" then shelled and sliced.

[Suzanimal]

Man who forced French supermarkets to donate food wants to take law global

Now Derambarsh wants to convince European countries and the wider world to adopt similar bans. “Food is the basis of life, it is an elementary factor in our existence,” he told the Guardian.

...

Derambarsh is planning to table the issue – via the campaign group One, founded by U2 singer Bono – when the United Nations discusses its Millennium development goals to end poverty in September as well as at the G20 economic summit in Turkey in November and the COP21 environment conference in Paris in December.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...l-law-campaign

[Occam's Banana]

Man who forced French supermarkets to donate food wants to take law global

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...l-law-campaign

Well, at least we'll get a purty flag to say allegiance to ...

Just what we need...



http://www.iflscience.com/space/plan...h-now-has-flag

[The Northbreather]

You can test how fresh an egg is by placing it carefully in a glass of water - if it sinks quickly it is pretty fresh - if it sinks slowly it is starting to go bad, but is ok to eat. If it floats, throw it away, it's bad.

When it stands on end in water it's said to be good for baking, may be a wives tale though.

[The Northbreather]

I would think in the US there would be some law against giving it to charity for "safety" reasons..

[Carlybee]

I would think in the US there would be some law against giving it to charity for "safety" reasons..

They won't even let you feed the homeless here so that wouldn't surprise me.

[VIDEODROME]

When I worked at Walmart, I saw massive food waste in the Deli. I find that I agree that this is a real problem, but as usual, the solution proposed is insanely heavy handed and short-sighted.

I can imagine that even the big retail companies don't like to see this waste either. This is food they brought into their store that failed to sell. It's like watching their lost profits go down the drain with the old food. I think if this guy or Bono had a sit down meeting with these companies, they might be able to find some common ground instead of using the government to bully them.

[Christian Liberty]

I don't agree with this law, but I can't imagine why they would just want to destroy unused food rather than giving it away. Is there any real downside to them here?

[Suzanimal]

I don't agree with this law, but I can't imagine why they would just want to destroy unused food rather than giving it away. Is there any real downside to them here?

Liability. If someone gets sick off their old food, they could get sued.

[Christian Liberty]

Liability. If someone gets sick off their old food, they could get sued.

The way that liability works needs a serious overhaul.

[Ronin Truth]

Unsold doesn't necessarily mean unsaleable.

[TaftFan]

I think most would be willing to do this voluntarily...providing someone else handles the redistribution.

[presence]

When it stands on end in water it's said to be good for baking, may be a wives tale though.

Thats kind of like when bananas get over ripe you make banana bread; its a way of using them up quickly.

[Suzanimal]

[Suzanimal]

France Has Banned Supermarkets From Wasting Food

Every year, 1.3 billion tonnes of food are thrown away worldwide, rather than being offered to charities and food banks. That could slowly begin to change though, thanks to a landmark ruling in France.

The French senate has banned supermarkets larger than 400 square meters (4,300 square feet) from binning unsold food, the first nation in the world to bring in such a ban. Instead, supermarkets will have to sign donation contracts with charities. The penalty for bosses not doing so is a fine of up to €75,000 (£58,000/$84,000), or two years imprisonment.

“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,” said Jacques Bailet, head of a network of French food banks called Banques Alimentaires, reported The Guardian. “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.”

Food banks and charities will be responsible for collecting and storing the food themselves, so more volunteers and helpers will be needed to handle the new influx of food. The food must also be given out at a proper center, and not simply handed out on the street.

France wastes an estimated 7.1 million tonnes of food annually, although only 11 percent of this is by shops (67 percent is consumers, and 15 percent restaurants), so there is still a long way to go. Nonetheless, it is an important step towards a more sustainable society.

The campaigners behind the movement, which began as a petition by politician Arash Derambarsh, now hope that the European Union might look to introduce similar legislation across the whole of Europe, forcing countries to better manage their unsold food.

Under the French law, supermarkets will also be banned from deliberately spoiling food, such as by pouring bleach on it to discourage people from rummaging through bins, or storing it in locked warehouses.

http://www.iflscience.com/editors-bl...s-wasting-food

[oyarde]

In the US this food will continue to go to the land fill , because the govt would never protect them from being sued if they gave it away .

[oyarde]

Nobody there finds 84k fine excessive ? WTF

[Suzanimal]

Nobody there finds 84k fine excessive ? WTF

Or two years in prison.

[TheTexan]

FDA does not require food firms to place "expired by", "use by" or "best before" dates on food products. This information is entirely at the discretion of the manufacturer.

These manufacturers are just voluntarily putting food expiration information on their products??!??!

The FDA needs to get on top of that, and make it mandatory.. pronto.

[oyarde]

Or two years in prison.

Insanity .

[TheTexan]

Nobody there finds 84k fine excessive ? WTF

$84k USD? It's not our fault, we have a strong dollar.

[otherone]

You can test how fresh an egg is by placing it carefully in a glass of water - if it sinks quickly it is pretty fresh - if it sinks slowly it is starting to go bad, but is ok to eat. If it floats, throw it away, it's bad.

IT'S A WITCH! BURN IT!

[erowe1]

I predict that one result of this will be that charities end up getting less food donated to them.

Has there been a study on its effects yet?