NAN-F-70
Waste
Brussels, April 11, 2017 (Xinhua/NAN) Members of the European Parliament, on Tuesday, presented proposals to cut food waste, which has been estimated at 88 million tons, per capita, annually in the European Union (EU).
The parliamentarians called on the EU countries to achieve food waste cut by 30 per cent by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030.
To this end, they called on the European Commission (EC) to lift the existing restrictions on food donations and make consumers fully understand “best before” and “use by” labeling.
As for donations, the commission should propose a change in the Value-Added Tax (VAT) directive that would explicitly authorise tax exemptions on food donations.
Moreover, the EU fund for European aid to the most deprived, should get the possibility of financing the cost of collecting, transporting, storing and distributing the food donations.
They called on the commission to assess the possibility of removing certain dates on products, without constituting any risk to public health or the environment.
Among them, the highest food waste per capita, per year is registered in the Netherlands, which is 541 kg and followed by Belgium’s 345 kg.
The lowest food waste per capita per year is recorded in Slovenia, which is 72 kg, followed by Malta and Romania, which are both 76kg. (Xinhua/NAN)
OYE/YEMI
Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Yemi Idris-Aduloju