Roundup: Italy to encourage donation of unsold food

Looking to reduce waste and help feed the most needy in the country, Italy is embarking on an initiative that will encourage supermarkets and restaurants to donate unsold food after a related law passed last week in the lower house.

Italy now is the second European country to embark on a plan with similar goals. In February, France made it illegal for supermarkets to throw away edible food. So far, the French plan -- which fines those who discard edible food -- has drawn mixed reviews.

The Italian plan is different: supermarkets and grocery stores are not required to donate food that is unsold because of cosmetic damage or nearness to its expiry date, but they are offered an array of tax incentives when they do donate.

"The Italian plan is well thought out and, in theory, should work," Marco Lucchini, director general of the Banco Alimentare Foundation, told Xinhua. "It's based on incentives that will make the idea attractive to many supermarkets or restaurants. That usually will work better than threats."

Despite that, experts are split on how much of an impact the food initiative will have. Lucchini said it would nearly double the amount of food waste kept out of landfills -- from 550,000 tons today to 1 million tons within two years -- while Andrea Segre, founder of Last Minute Market, a spin-off from the University of Bologna, said that while the plan represents a positive step, its impacts would likely be limited.

Anti-poverty groups said they would welcome the new source of food, which will help feed thousands in extreme poverty, though there is some concern about how the donated food items will be stored safely and transported to where it is needed.

But according to Stefano Cifani, president of the Italian environmental lobby group Legambiente, one of the biggest benefits from the plan will be the reduced impact on the environment. By reducing the amount of organic waste in landfills, it lessens the waste crisis in the country, reduces dangerous organic runoff and some of the unhealthy fumes decomposing waste can create.

"This has the potential to be a win-win-win situation," Cifani said in an interview. "The supermarkets get a tax break, there is more food for those in need, and, above all, the environmental health of the country is improved."

Still, it is not a done deed. The measure easily passed the lower house of parliament, and it has the support of the government coalition led by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. But it must pass the Italian Senate before becoming law.

After the measure passed the lower house, Minister of Environment Gian Luca Galletti threw his weight behind the measure, saying it is "a signal that Italy is ready to respond to the unsupportable moral, economic, and environmental contradictions of the current situation." Endit