Millions of tons of good food end up in Poland's waste bins every year. The government is working on a law that will impose new obligations on stores and tougher penalties for food waste. Representatives of public organizations want the draft law to go even higher, and representatives of the industry protest.
Five million tons of food is destroyed every year in Poland. This number doesn't make much sense until we look at the trash cans – Fruits and vegetables tend to end up in the trash cans. Less, some packaged things, for example, meat and dairy products – says Veronika.
– Are these fruits and vegetables rotten? – we ask, pointing to the trash cans full of food in front of the supermarket. – A maximum of three – answers Veronika.
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Quality food thrown away TVN24
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announces higher penalties
A draft has been placed on the table of the Minister of Agriculture, which will tighten the law on food waste in stores. As Deputy Minister Michal Kolodzieczak says, the main change is how food is defined.
– Until now, if the bread was spoiled, the apple was rotten, or the sausage was damaged or moldy in the store – they were no longer considered food, but garbage. The rules we are introducing will change that. Everything that was food remains food until the end, and the store must account for everything that was food – concludes Michal Kolodziejczak.
The current law on non-food waste requires that any store with an area of more than 250 square meters must enter into a contract with a charity to provide food to those in need. The problem is that the law does not work. Therefore, the ministry also announces more penalties.
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For one ton of food consumed by the store, it is five hundred zlotys instead of one hundred zlotys. It is also necessary to take into account what is wasted and what is saved, which opposes these trade enterprises. In the statement of its representatives, we read that this act only imposes further penalties and reporting obligations, which make it more difficult to carry out business activities.
– I have no sympathy for the shops, because they are harmless, don't let them joke, don't cheat. If you don't like it, please do business in Germany, Lithuania, Czech Republic, France, not in Poland – explains Michal Kolodziejczyk when it was pointed out to him that entrepreneurs are angry about this practice.
Representatives of public organizations want this act to go even higher. Thus, salvaged products can reach only those in need. “They should be intended for human consumption and not used for processing into biofuel or animal feed,” says Beata Siepla, president of the Board of the Federation of Polish Food Banks.
This act has just been submitted for public consultation, and the ministry is open to expanding its provisions.
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Main photo source: TVN24
