THE House of Representatives’ special committee on food security has recommended for plenary approval a substitute bill seeking to reduce food waste through donations and waste recycling.
Rep. Leo Rafael Cueva of Negros Occidental, the panel’s chairperson, said his committee passed the bill, saying “the massive amount of food wasted and the considerable number of people going hungry daily is a breach that the proposed Act intends to correct.”
“Hence, it shall be a policy of the State to attain food security, end hunger, and promote the efficient use of the country’s food resources,” Cueva said on the proposed “Food Waste Reduction Act.”
This substituted House Bills 2496, 4263, 4675, 5746, 6235 and 6789 authored by Reps. Conrado Estrella III, Evelina Escudero, John Marvin Nieto, Emi Calixto-Rubiano, Deputy Speaker Sharon Garin, and Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., respectively.
The substitute bill will be referred to the plenary for action when Congress resumes session Tuesday next week.
The substitute bill proposes to address food wastage redistribution and recycling.
As such, the State shall implement measures for the mandatory donation of edible food surplus for charitable purposes, the bill’s authors said.
The bill defines edible food surplus as excess food/surplus food in the retail and consumption stages, determined to be fit for consumption based on standards set by the National Nutrition Council and the Food and Drug Administration.
It defines food-insecure as persons or groups of persons who have no means and/or have difficulty producing or purchasing food.
The following are the establishments covered by the bill: food manufacturers; food establishments (restaurants, cafés, diners, fast food chains, or hotels); supermarkets with at least 500 square meters of selling space; and culinary schools which offer culinary, baking, and pastry courses and with at least 50 students.
The criteria for determining food insecures shall be made by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, in coordination with the Local Government Units.
A National Food Surplus Campaign shall be undertaken by the NNC, in coordination with the DSWD; Department of the Interior and Local Government; Department of Environment and Natural Resources; Department of Education; Department of Trade and Industry; Department of Health; Department of Science and Technology; Department of Agriculture; FDA; other concerned agencies; and LGUs.
The campaign shall raise awareness on the impact of food surplus and strategies to minimize food waste, starting at the household level.
The campaign shall also promote the food surplus reduction hierarchy and recommend means of reducing individual food waste.
To educate the younger generation, the DepEd shall have the duty to ensure the prescribed curriculum includes informative materials on the following: current global and national food waste situation; ways to minimize food surplus; national and local food surplus prevention programs; food recovery; and pertinent provisions of the Act.
The following steps shall be followed in edible waste distribution: 1) Owners of covered establishments shall segregate their edible and inedible food surplus; 2) Before donation, a duly accredited health inspector of the LGU shall check if the edible food surplus is fit for consumption based on the standards set by the NNC and FDA; 3) Upon certifying that the edible food surplus is fit for consumption, the edible food surplus shall be donated to accredited food banks, to be determined by the DSWD; 4) The food banks shall coordinate with the DSWD and LGUs in distributing the edible food surplus to food insecures.