French supermarkets — but only those larger than 400 square metres — can no longer afford to waste or destroy food that is still in good condition. The National Assembly in Paris, the lower house of the French parliament, has unanimously approved a number of measures against food waste by shops and supermarkets. Those who break the law will face penalties of up to €75,000 and two years in prison.

Retailers are therefore obliged to donate unsold food products to charitable associations, which will in turn distribute them to those in need. People living in poverty and the homeless, or the food may alternatively be passed on to organisations that will convert it into animal feed or compost for agricultural land.

According to its sponsor Guillaume Garot, a former Agriculture Minister, the law should enable France to halve food waste by 2025: "It is shocking to see bleach poured onto food to make it unsellable." The remark refers to the practice of preventing people who have nothing to eat from rummaging through bins in search of food.

Jacques Creyssel, spokesman for the Federation of Trade and Distribution, is sceptical about the law's real impact, arguing that supermarkets are "responsible for only 5 per cent of waste, yet are the only ones subject to these new obligations," and that "many retailers already have agreements with charitable associations."

It remains a fact, however, that every French person throws away between 20 and 30 kilograms of food products for domestic use per year, at a value of between 12 and 20 billion euros. In Italy the figure stands at around 8 billion euros. According to a report by Repubblica, "2 million tonnes of food are lost during industrial processing and 300,000 tonnes at the distribution stage." Worldwide, the value of food waste amounts to 270 billion euros. This is unacceptable when one considers that 795 million people go hungry every day.