Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

I commend Senator Quinn on tabling this Private Members' motion on a topic that has been discussed in this Chamber in recent months, not least regarding the subject of obesity and childhood obesity at the instigation of Senator Eamonn Coghlan. In addition, Members had a debate recently on the issue of food safety standards. This issue deserves some time and attention and Senator Quinn, who comes from a background of food service provision in the retail sector, certainly can speak with some authority on the subject. Fianna Fáil is delighted to be able to support his motion, which is very sensible, particularly when one considers how it has been laid out. The Senator touches on the obesity issue and the food waste issue. As Senator Quinn outlined, given that 1 billion people go hungry each night in the Third World despite so much food being wasted in our world and country, governments must take control and take stock of the issue of food waste. While regulation or legislation may be a step too far, codes of practice can be brought into the industry that could ameliorate the issue of food waste and the manner in which it takes place in Ireland. In addition, the introduction of education programmes in primary schools to educate pupils certainly would be an important step in that process.

Approximately 90 million tonnes of food go to waste each year within the European Union alone, of which approximately 1 million tonnes of food go to waste in Ireland. That is a great deal of food and if one stacked up 1 million tonnes of food on O'Connell Street in Dublin, one can imagine the amount of food one physically could see. When one takes buildings into consideration, O'Connell Street probably could not contain such a quantity of food, which represents the wastage that occurs within the food industry each year in Ireland. The food industry comprises a number of sectors, including the manufacturing sector, within which much of the food wastage probably is unavoidable. I refer to materials such as bones and carcases in the context of meat products, as well as technical malfunctions in which there may be overproduction or misshapen products. For example, Senator O'Brien has a background in chocolate manufacturing and some chocolate companies sell on misshapen chocolates, which is the correct thing to do, and one sees them in supermarkets.

As for householders, this is where education from a young age comes in because at present, there is a lack of awareness regarding the quantity of food waste being generated individually, the environmental problems food waste causes and the environmental costs to the Exchequer in dealing with that waste, as well as the manner in which householders purchase food in general and the lack of knowledge on how to be efficient in respect of food consumption. This latter point also pertains to the retail sector because when supermarkets make special offers, people probably will purchase additional food they may not necessarily require at that point. Such food then goes off or the "best before" date thereon expires and suddenly one's fridge contains food that is out of date, inedible or potentially unsafe to eat. This generates part of the problem. I refer to attitudes, preferences and planning issues in respect of the home. In addition, Senator Quinn referred to labelling issues and there is misinterpretation of and confusion over date labels. In particular, there is confusion regarding recognition of the meaning of the "best before" date in terms of food being safe to use. One often sees this in one's own home, where the "best before" date of food that is stored in the fridge at a correct temperature can be surpassed and the food is safe to use. However, people are not generally aware of this. Perhaps there should be "best before" and "use before" dates but this also comes down to education.

The wholesale and retail sectors also must play a part, as must the food service sector and in particular the large restaurant chains people use. In such restaurants, Fianna Fáil believes there should be a calorie count on the menus so that people would know the calorie count, the quantity of protein and carbohydrates and the make-up of the food on their plates. This is something with which Members should concern themselves, particularly when one notes the incidence of obesity, which is growing in Ireland and globally. At present, 22 million children under the age of five are classified as being obese and 327,000 Irish children are classified as being either obese or overweight. This is a major issue and while I do not make a political point in this regard, it goes back to a fundamental lack of education and a lacuna in the primary school curriculum in respect of healthy eating, sports and fitness, recreation and calorie consumption. As someone who has studied food science, I am aware that children can pick this up very quickly. While it would take a cross-departmental approach to review the educational curriculum, unless one starts at that level, it will be extremely difficult to tackle. Although one can continue to pump money into the health system to deal with obesity, the fundamental problem lies with the consumption of those foods people choose to consume. Marketing also is a major problem in this regard.