PARLIAMENT | The government will get input from other countries including France in drawing up the Food Waste Bill, said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

He said France was among the most advanced countries in laws like this which would also monitor the Food Bank programme.

“The Bill will combine the experiences of other countries and be tabled at the end of this year,” he said when replying to a question from Nurul Izzah Anwar (Pakatan Harapan-Permatang Pauh) on the ministry’s efforts to resolve the problem of food waste at all levels.

On Dec 2 last year, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was reported to have said that the government planned to formulate the Food Waste Act after a full study is conducted on it.

She said the act was important as part of the government’s efforts to stop the habit of wasting food among the public.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin said the Food Bank Malaysia programme had benefited 46,000 people in the country since it was introduced in August last year.

“About 1,000 metric tonnes of food surplus were obtained from hypermarkets, such as vegetables, fruits and bread to be distributed among the needy,” he said.

- Bernama