French supermarkets can show-off their record on cutting food waste
A new labelling system will allow shoppers to see how committed a store is to reducing the amount of food thrown away each day
The new label will rate supermarkets on a star rating system from one to three, showing the extent and success of their food waste measuresLuigi Bertello / Shutterstock
The label will be available for display at supermarkets nationwide if they fulfil the criteria and pass an independent review, according to a decree published on Thursday, March 2.
The label will be displayed clearly, for example on a supermarket or shop window.
The criteria for the label was created in partnership with the French standardisation association, l'Association française de normalisation (Afnor), as part of the February 2020 anti-waste law (loi anti-gaspillage et à l'économie circulaire,AGEC).
France’s ecology ministry said that supermarket brands will be able to obtain the label based on the results of the “waste and waste reduction performance” measures that they implement in their stores.
These might include:
Donations to associations that help people struggling to afford food
Systems implemented to identify products that are close to expiry and the ways in which they are sold to customers (lower prices, anti-waste baskets, etc.)
Staff training on anti-waste measures
The label will also be contingent on approval from an independent certification body approved by the state.
Around nine million tonnes of food is thrown away in France each year, with three-quarters of that binned by consumers.
— Ministères Territoires Écologie Logement (@Ecologie_Gouv) March 3, 2023
In 2016, the country became the first in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away unsold food, requiring them to donate any still-safe items to food banks or charities instead.
