France Passes Law Requiring Supermarkets Give Unsold Foods To Charities Or Food Banks

France has become the first country in the world to ban
supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food, forcing them instead
to donate it to charities and food banks.

Under a law passed unanimously by the French senate this
week  large shops will no longer bin good
quality food approaching its best-before date. Charities will be able to give
out millions more free meals each year to people struggling to afford to eat.

The law follows a grassroots campaign in France by shoppers,
anti-poverty campaigners and those opposed to food waste. The campaign, which
led to a petition, was started by the councillor Arash Derambarsh. In December
a bill on the issue passed through the national assembly, having been
introduced by the former food industry minister Guillaume Garot.

Campaigners now hope to persuade the EU to adopt similar
legislation across member states.

Supermarkets will also be barred from deliberately spoiling
food in order to stop it being eaten by people foraging in stores’ bins. In
recent years, growing numbers of families, students, unemployed and homeless
people in France have been foraging in supermarket bins at night to feed
themselves. People have been finding edible products thrown out just as their
best-before dates approached.