Stores throw millions of tons of good food into the trash. The Ministry of Agriculture announces that the law will be tightened

Five million tons of food – that's how much goes to waste in Poland every year. This number doesn't mean much until we look into the garbage cans – Fruits and vegetables are most often found in garbage cans. Less often, some packaged items, for example meat and dairy products – says Weronika.

– Are these fruits and vegetables rotten? – we ask, pointing to the garbage cans filled with food in front of the supermarket. – Maximum one third – replies Weronika.

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There is a ready bill on the Minister of Agriculture's desk that will tighten the law on food waste in stores. As Deputy Minister Michał Kołodziejczak says, the main change is what is defined as food.

– Until now, if the bread was spoiled, the apple was rotten or the sausage was spoiled or moldy in the store – they were no longer considered food, but waste. The regulations we are introducing are changing that. Everything that was food remains food until the end, and the store has to account for everything that was food – sums up Michał Kołodziejczak.

The current Act on Non-Food Waste assumes that every store with an area exceeding 250 square meters should have a signed contract with a charity to ensure that food reaches those in need. The problem is that the law does not work. That is why the ministry also announces greater penalties.

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For a ton of food wasted by a store, instead of one hundred zlotys, the amount will be five hundred zlotys. There will also be a need to keep records of what is wasted and what is saved, which is opposed by the trade industry. In the statement of its representatives, we read that the act only introduces further penalties and reporting obligations, which will make it more difficult for entrepreneurs to run their businesses.

– I don't have the slightest empathy for the shops because they are not harmed, so don't let them make jokes, don't make things up. If you don't like it, please trade in Germany, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, France, and not in Poland – comments Michał Kołodziejczyk when it was pointed out to him that entrepreneurs feel aggrieved by this act.

Representatives of non-governmental organizations would like the act to go even further. So that the rescued products can reach only those in need. – They should be intended for human consumption and not used for processing into biofuels or animal food – says Beata Ciepła, president of the Management Board of the Federation of Polish Food Banks.

The act has just been submitted for public consultation, and the ministry is open to expanding its provisions.

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