Supermarkets could face ban on throwing away unsold food

Supermarkets in Scotland should be banned from throwing away unsold food as part of efforts to cut waste and stop people going hungry, the SNP has said.

Members at the party’s conference overwhelmingly passed a motion calling for the creation of French-style laws that punish supermarkets for wasting edible food.

In 2016 the French senate passed legislation that requires retailers to give their leftover food to charities and foodbanks or risk being fined more than £3,000.

The SNP motion said around 0 Emma Harper proposes supermarkets donate food

380,000 tonnes of food and drink are thrown away by Scottish retailers every year, at an estimated cost of more than £1 billion.

It argued that while some supermarkets already donate their unused food to charities on a voluntary basis, Scotland should introduce “similar measures” to France to ensure compliance.

It also called for retailers to introduce clearer best before and use by dates on fruit and vegetables, claiming the current system was confusing and caused people to throw food away needlessly. SNP MSP Emma Harper, who proposed the motion, said the Netherlands had also taken a tough approach to food waste and called for Scotland to follow suit. “We need to try and work towards a donations deal between supermarkets and charities that passes on their unsold produce to the hungry.”