Call to end food waste

Michael Meacher is demanding the Government acts on supermarkets wasting food.

He wants surplus and close-dated food to be given to food banks and charities.

The Oldham West and Royton MP said large amounts of waste are unjustifiable, given a desperate need for food.

He said: “More and more people are turning to food banks and more than 5,300 emergency food parcels for three days were handed out in Oldham last year. This is at the same time as supermarkets are throwing away vast amounts of food.”

Mr Meacher is among a group in Westminster urging government to act. He wants legislation to ban supermarkets from throwing away food approaching its best-before dates.

Legislation was recently enacted in France to make supermarkets hand over food taht would otherwise have been destroyed, even though perfectly edible.