Italy is about to pass an "unsold food" law that would lift onerous regulations that keep food from being donated and combat a waste problem that costs its economy about $13.3 billion annually,
The bill, which passed the Italian House on Monday and is moving toward final approval in the Senate, makes it easier for businesses to give away excess food by simplifying declaration methods and food safety regulations, according to the website
The Local..
The bill will allow products that have passed their 'best before' date to still be given away. Lawmakers said they hope the legislation could double the amount of food that's currently saved.
"We are making it more convenient for companies to donate than to waste," Maurizio Martina, Italy's agriculture minister, Maurizio Martina, told
La Repubblica. "We currently recover 550 million tons of excess food each year but we want to arrive at one billion in 2016."
If the bill becomes law, Italy would become the second European country to address unsold food, according to
The Independent. In February, France's Senate approved a law that banned large grocery stores from disposing of spoiling unsold food.
"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," Jacques Bailet, head of Banques Alimentaires, a network of French food banks, told
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," said Bailet.
The supermarkets will have sign "donation contracts" or face fines, said The Guardian.
"Punishing wasters is not so helpful: this is all about encouraging donations," Italian Democratic Party Parliament member Maria Chiara Gadda, told La Repubblica.
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.