Give customers doggy bags for uneaten food or face fine, Spain warns restaurants

Spanish restaurants and bars will have to offer doggy bags to customers in an effort to cut down on food waste or face huge fines, under proposals for a new law on Tuesday.

Under the scheme introduced by the Council of Ministers, cafes and supermarkets will have to partner up with food banks and agree on the collection, storage and transport of uneaten meals. Those who do not comply could face a fine of up to €60,000 (£51,200).

Around 1.3 million kilos (1,400 tonnes) of food is thrown away in Spain each year, amounting to 31kg per person, the government said.

If leftovers are unable to be donated, they should be transformed into other products such as jams and juices, the government said.

And when the “best before” date has elapsed, food should be gifted for use as animal feed, compost or biofuel.

Venues will also need to offer free “doggybags” to customers who would like to take their unfinished food home. These establishment will also have to report their levels of food waste each year.

Luis Planas, the minister of agriculture, said the law was designed to “regulate and raise awareness” and “to prevent inefficiency in the food chain”.

The world is currently in the grips of a food crisis fuelled by Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports, which is preventing millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain from being exported. Experts fear global hunger will rise dramatically this year as a result.

The politician, a member of Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), highlighted the economic, environmental and ethical costs of food waste “in a world where unfortunately there is still hunger”.

Mr Planas expressed his hope that the bill will gain parliamentary approval and be enforced from next January. France and Italy are the only countries in the EU which currently have similar provisions, he added.

The majority of food waste in Spain occurs in homes, a problem the new proposal does not tackle. A recent study by the country’s department for agriculture found that 75 per cent of Spaniards admitted to wasting food.

Globally, roughly a third of all food produced – around 1.3 billion tonnes – is thrown away each year, according to the UN Environment Programme.