Through the new law, consumers will be able to benefit from reduced prices for food before the expiry date and the procedure by which non-governmental organizations can receive food that does not have a high degree of perishability will be simplified.
The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis PHOTO Inquam Photos
The normative act promulgated by the head of state has as its regulatory object the amendment and completion of Law no. 217/2016 on the reduction of food waste, republished, with subsequent amendments.
The law aims to organize at national level the activity of all economic operators in the agri-food sector and the measures regarding the reintroduction of food into the economic circuit, the distribution of food to disadvantaged people and the connection of local producers with distributors and traders in Romania.
Also, the law introduces a series of specific obligations for public administration authorities and institutions, such as: the obligation for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in consultation with the National Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Authority, the National Authority for Consumer Protection, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, to draw up the national strategy for the prevention and reduction of food waste that must be updated with a periodicity of no more than five years, the implementation of measures to combat food waste by institutions, where food products are managed, the creation by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of a national platform for the prevention and reduction of food waste in which economic operators and receiving operators enter their mandatory information according to the already existing law, the obligation for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to publish on its website relevant data regarding food losses and waste of economic operators, the obligation for the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate the development of informative materials for economic operators in order to prevent and reduce food waste.
Benefits and penalties
Among the measures that can be implemented by economic operators or authorities are: reducing the price of food before the expiry date; food donation; transfer of food so that it can be reused for animal feed.
The normative act also provides for sanctions for non-compliance with the provisions of the law, respectively: from 1,000 to 3,000 lei, for micro-enterprises; from 3,000 to 6,000 lei, for small and medium enterprises; from 6,000 to 10,000 lei, for large enterprises.
