“Excuse me, could you give me a container to put these leftovers? You know, it's for the dog...". How many in the restaurant hide behind similar somewhat embarrassed justifications to hide the discomfort of asking for being able to take home the food not consumed during the meal? It is a fact that more and more Italians now consume meals outside the home, ordering food that is often only partially consumed, generating a phenomenon of waste and the creation of high quantities of waste. According to data collected by the Italian Federation of public businesses (FIPE) approximately 74 percent of consumers believe that the practice ofremoval of leftover food is correct. However, there are still many Italians, over one in four, who consider it unbecoming to ask restaurateurs to be able to take with them food not consumed during the meal.
The anti-waste logo arrives
Ma a notification, clearly visible at the entrance to restaurants and on the menu, will finally tell us that it is possible there take away what was ordered and not totally consumed, thus freeing us from inventing unlikely excuses to have us wrap up our leftovers and take them home. Avoiding an unforgivable waste of food that inevitably ends up in the garbage.
This is what one predicts proposal on which the Industry and Agriculture commission is working in the Senate; a bill to facilitate the possibility of taking away uneaten food from the restaurant, in order to reduce waste. It suggests theestablishment of a voluntary logo which operators in the catering sector and retailers authorized to serve food and drinks can make use of, in order to promote the practice of taking away uneaten food within the premises. The logo should be clearly and clearly stated inside the premises, on the menus, which can also be consulted remotely, and in all promotional communication systems for consumers. Furthermore, again in order to avoid waste, it is proposed to include in the menu the option of consuming meals in half a portion and offers dedicated to children.
The fight against waste: a global phenomenon
The fight against food waste has one global dimension. The European Commission has committed to implementing, from 2020 to 2030, policies aimed at reducing food waste per capita by 30 percent in restaurants, canteens and families, and by 10 percent in the food industry, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
In the European Union every year it is estimated one waste of 131 kilograms for each citizen. According to data from the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), in 2021 European countries produced a total of around 58,4 million tonnes of food waste. 54 percent of this waste has domestic origins, around 70 kilograms per year per capita, while the remaining 46 percent is generated upstream in the food supply chain. Italy occupies seventh place in the ranking, with 140 kilograms of waste per capita annually.
And in this context the same Industry and Agriculture commission of the Senate is examining two bills which intervene on the one hand to reduce waste in school and company canteens and on the other to reduce them in the production, transformation and distribution phases of food products.
