Czech Republic to place ban on throwing out expired food – Products to be donated to the poor instead

Under the new law, the Czech Republic will place a ban on the throwing out of expired food by store chains. Stores will have to donate frozen products, fruit and vegetables, as well as other still usable products, to a food bank and humanitarian organizations, from where packages will be distributed to the poorest citizens.

Since the new regulations came into effect, the Prague Food Bank has been full of packages of dairy products, sweets, preserved meat products... Vera Dousova of the Prague Food Bank says that, thanks to the new law, the food bank has many more products stored, as well as a greater variety of them.

However, discount traders believe that the law is wrong, as it now places an additional obligation on them to check which food can be used and which has to be thrown out. The problem has reached the Constitutional Court due to the accusations that the regulations discriminate against certain institutions. For example, traders used to donate food to zoos, which they are no longer allowed to do.

Prague Food Bank

Vera Dousova

law

traders

food products

expiration date

frozen products

fruit

vegetables

food bank

humanitarian organizations

dairy products

sweets

preserved meat products

constitutional court

zoos

donation

stores

hypermarkets