IN list of the government's legislative works it was reported that work is underway on a draft amendment to the act on combating food waste. Its aim is not only to reduce food waste, but also to encourage sellers to transfer it to non-governmental organizations involved in food redistribution.
Food waste fees to increase. Government is working on amending the act
The Ministry of Agriculture, which is responsible for the project, indicates that 4.8 million tons of food are wasted in Poland every year. At the same time, only 0.38 percent of it goes to the Federation of Polish Food Banks. To counteract these problems, the ministry wants to increase the fees for stores for wasting food fivefold – from 10 to 50 groszy per kilogram.
However, these are not all the planned changes. Fines for failure to pay the fee for wasted food are also to be higher. Currently, they range from PLN 500 to PLN 10,000. After the amendment to the act, these amounts are to increase to a range of PLN 5,000 to PLN 15,000. In addition, there will also be a fine of PLN 5,000 for failure to carry out a mandatory educational and information campaign.
Sellers protest fee increase. “It's reprehensible”
Maciej Ptaszyński, president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, is against these changes. – Increasing the fee for wasted food is a counterproductive measure that aims to destroy entrepreneurship, especially small and medium-sized enterprises – he said in an interview with the portal DlaHandlu.pl. Ptaszyński assured that no one supports food waste, but at the same time emphasized that the actions government in this respect they must be “taken with judgment”.
The PIH chief pointed out that the industry has been calling for a reduction in the number of reporting obligations for years. He pointed out that entrepreneurs are already dealing with issues CIT taxes and VAT or waste reports. He argued that retailers are also subject to numerous inspections and unclear regulations related to the Omnibus Directive. There will also soon be more work in connection with the introduction of the deposit system. – Finally, as the cherry on the cake, reporting obligations related to food waste or not waste are added. This is simply reprehensible – he assessed.
“Fact” indicates that the changes announced by the government will only affect retailers, who believe that the regulations should cover the entire food chain and focus on educating consumers. The latter are responsible for 60 percent of food products thrown away, while agricultural producers and processors are responsible for 30 percent. Meanwhile, trade itself is responsible for about seven percent of food waste. Retailers indicate that the increase in fees will affect their operating costs and therefore lead to an increase price products. This, in turn, will be felt by consumers themselves.
Changing the definition of food waste. “It's a key element”
– A key element, from the point of view of organizations providing assistance, would be to eliminate the practice of leaving products on shelves until their expiration date. This problem could be solved by changing the definition of the term “food waste” – she noted in an interview with “Dziennik Gazeta Prawna” Beata Ciepła, president of the board of the Federation of Polish Food Banks.
The regulation designed by the Ministry of Agriculture assumes, among other things, the clarification of this definition. After the changes, it is to reflect the assumption that “until food becomes waste, actions should be taken to prevent its waste”. In connection with this: “waste includes not only actions that result in food being wasted, but also omissions that led to its expiration” – it was emphasized in the project.
Portal Infor.pl recalls that in 2019, regulations were passed to combat food waste. According to them, stores with an area of over 250 square meters, if half of their revenue comes from food sales, are obliged to conclude agreements with non-governmental organizations for the free transfer of unsaleable food. This applies primarily to products withdrawn from sale due to defects in appearance or packaging. Sellers were also obliged to conduct information and education campaigns and submit reports on the amount of food wasted.