A Labour MP has put forward a food waste bill that would force supermarkets and food manufacturers to donate their “gratuitous amounts” of surplus food to charities by law.
Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East, is introducing the private members’ bill in the Commons and is said to have cross-party support but little chance of becoming law.
McCarthy said the bill is designed to ensure that more of the “gratuitous amounts of food wasted by supermarkets and manufacturers” is donated to charities so it can be redistributed to the "increasing number of people living in food poverty in the UK".
In a statement on her website she also said food which is unfit for human consumption should be made available for livestock feed in preference to disposal.
Other proposals include encouraging other businesses and public bodies which generate food waste - from small food retailers to restaurants - to donate their surplus for redistribution.
To get around legal issues McCarthy also suggests creating a UK version of 1996 US legislation, The Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which protects good faith food donors and recipient agencies or foodbanks from civil and criminal liability, except in cases of gross negligence and/or intentional misconduct.
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