• The law on reducing food waste was adopted by the Romanian Senate.
The legislative initiative on the prevention and reduction of food waste, submitted by USR deputy Diana Buzoianu, together with over 160 senators and deputies from all parties in Romania, was adopted by the Senate.
Diana Buzoianu, co-initiator of the law on the reduction food waste states: "Romania is the country with over a third of the population at risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to official statistics. At the same time, 2,55 million tons of food are thrown away in Romania annually. In short, we waste considerable amounts of food every day, while a large part of the population cannot afford basic food. This reality must be changed, and the current project aims to take important steps in this regard".
This legislative project, recently approved by the Romanian Senate, and which is to be voted on in the decision-making forum of the Chamber of Deputies, provides concrete obligations that will effectively contribute to the fight against food waste.
Concrete measures
These measures aimed at reducing food waste, provided for in the draft law, also include the following:
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will create a national online platform for the reporting, by economic operators, of data regarding food waste.
- At the same time, on the website Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development relevant data on the progress made to prevent and reduce food waste will be published annually and the National Strategy for the Prevention and Reduction of Food Waste will be implemented, a strategy that will be updated once every 5 years.
- For the first time, the obligation of Public Administration Authorities to take concrete measures against food waste is regulated in legislation.
- Economic operators will have the obligation to undertake all the necessary actions to conclude contracts, whereby they donate the food products before the expiry date.
- Bureaucratic conditions will be improved for organizations that take non-perishable food from stores and food chains, to facilitate and streamline the entire food redistribution action.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
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