[Nedeljnik.rs] NALED's recipe for less food waste

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency, a third of the food produced worldwide never gets eaten. Most European countries have already started applying various regulations and incentives in response to this global problem. In this respect, our country lags far behind, as about 250,000 tons of edible food are thrown away every year or between 30 and 40 kilograms per capita.

Although it is impossible to find a solution overnight, NALED proposes a good start by activating prevention measures, ie. by introducing an obligation to all retail facilities and restaurants to donate food that is close to expiring, so that it does not turn into waste. According to the latest amendments to the Law on Food Safety, the expiration dates of foodstuffs have been defined - best to use before and usable until which opens a time frame for donation. What is missing, and needs to be worked on is the introduction of tax relief for all those who have surplus food, to redirect it to where they are most needed, without paying VAT.

One more thing that needs to be worked on, where the countries of Western Europe have set a good example, is the introduction of an obligation for all large kitchens that produce more than 50 meals a day to separate biowaste and hand it over to an authorized operator for further processing. Together with edible food, the amount of waste generated during processing, sale, and use, eventually reaches 900,000 tons, which is slightly less than half of the total municipal waste in Serbia.

Although there is a legal obligation and all restaurants are obliged to hand over food waste to the operator, only 13% of caterers do so, due to the high cost of treatment. Unlike waste edible oil, for which they receive money from the operator, in the case of food, they have to pay for each kilogram, because it is not worthwhile for operators in the current conditions to take over the waste without compensation. This is one of the main reasons why 99% of leftovers from kitchens and "plates" still end up in landfills.