Italy introduces new law designed to tackle endemic food waste problem

Italy has passed a wide-ranging new law designed to make it easier to tackle food waste and unwanted produce, including a €1 million research project.

Italy’s agriculture ministry will run a €1 million research project into cutting down waste, exploring new forms of packaging to extend the shelf life of foods in transit.

Restaurants will also be encouraged to offer ‘family bags’ for customers to take home unfinished food.

Italy, like many countries worldwide, faces a food waste problem which is thought to cost businesses and households more than €12bn every year.

But on Tuesday, Italy's lawmakers hit back with a law to provide tax incentives for companies to cut down on food waste, and sweep away regulatory hurdles that block the distribution of waste food to charities and those in need.

It is hoped the measures will shave one million tonnes of food waste from the estimated five million tonnes thrown out across the country each year.

Under the law's package of measures, rules governing the distribution of leftover food have been relaxed to allow businesses to donate food past its sell-by date and enable farmers to send produce to charities at no extra cost if it is not being sold.

Businesses will also be offered tax breaks rewarding them for producing less waste, and a simpler process for logging donations will be introduced.

The move follows a similar law passed in France in February, which bans supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food.

In June, Tesco CEO Dave Lewis encouraged businesses to do more to tackle food waste.

He called on the wider industry to publish their food waste data in order to make meaningful progress.

Appealing for action across the food industry, Dave Lewis urged collaboration in tackling food waste right across the supply chain – in farms, distribution, in supermarket operations, and in customer’s own homes.