Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

There has been a very good campaign to promote safe food in recent times. Another food-related issue is food waste. It is a matter that is in our own hands to a very large extent so I am not sure that we need legislation. We must encourage whomever, perhaps the Department of Health, to convince the public to reduce food wastage. I do not have the figure for food wastage in Ireland but the figures for Britain and the United States are huge. The supermarket industry uses promotions called BOGOF which means "buy one get one free" and acts as a real incentive to people to buy things that they do not need.

Another matter is size. In particular, the size of loaves of bread and sliced pans are so large that between half and two thirds is thrown out. The same applies to salads. In the past people bought a lettuce but now they buy packs of lettuce. Apparently, the amount of packs wasted is very large.

As I said, I am not sure if we need to legislate against food wastage. We did not convince the public to reduce their use of plastic bags until the plastic bag tax was introduced. The measure has worked well and people around the world have been full of admiration for the way Ireland handled the matter. The plastic bag tax has proved useful and I do not understand why other countries have not followed suit. The correct way to deal with food wastage is to convince the public of the wisdom of purchasing differently, particularly when it comes to food. People are starving in the world yet we throw out a very large amount of food. It is not just the supermarkets who waste food, households throw out the most food. The safefood people must make a determined and convincing argument to reduce food waste.