Czech supermarkets that are larger than 400 square meters in size are banned from throwing away unsold food that is still consumable. Such items include deformed packaging, incorrect labeling, or items with a minimum shelf life. Instead, they must donate it to charity or to non-profit organizations. This law has strengthened cooperation between retailers and food banks. Their main goal is to reduce the waste of food.
According to the Czech Federation of Food Banks, around 1,900 tons of unused food was collected in 2017. It was then redistributed to approximately 70,000 people. Thanks to this new law, the amount of food donated to charity could increase to up to five times more!
There are some supermarkets that have already been giving unused food to charity even before this law was made. Tesco is one of them. Since 2013 Tesco has been cooperating with food banks. “We give hundreds of tons of food, usually fruit, vegetables, and pastries,” said Václav Koukolíček, Tesco’s spokesman. He mentioned that donations from their 154 stores are made on a daily or weekly basis.
Opposition Brought To Court
There were some people against the law saying it was an infringement on constitutional rights. That’s why in January, the Czech Constitutional Court heard a draft opposing the law prepared by 25 Czech senators. However, the courts ruled in favor of the law. They deemed that it does not represent an infringement on property rights and falls in line with international efforts to reduce food waste, protect the environment, and help the needy.
Other Countries Embracing The Idea
Other European countries such as Italy and France have already partaken in similar regulations where they collect food to give to the needy. They collect up to 100,000 tons of food every year and around 32,000 comes directly from supermarket chains. The European Union has plans to reduce 50 percent of food waste by 2030. The new Food Act is one of the ways the Czech Republic plans to reach this goal.
Actually, stores are not the biggest producers of waste but the people are. The average Czech person consumes around 785 kilograms of food per year and about 100 to 200 kilograms of that food is discarded. Only 9 percent of people aged 18 to 24 years old say they have never wasted food, that figure rises up to 33 percent for people aged 56 to 65 years old. To say the least, one could gain a lot by planning their meals.
