French supermarkets will be forbidden from destroying unsold food and encouraged to donate it to charities or farms as part of a national campaign against food waste.

The senate approved the bill this week after a lower house vote last year.

Big supermarket chains must donate goods no longer deemed fit for sale to charities or farms for use as animal feed or compost.

That includes goods that have been packaged incorrectly or damaged, but remain edible, or that are past a recommended use-by date but are safe to eat. Foods that are past a firm expiry date would go to farms.

Environmental groups welcomed the vote in a country where it is estimated that 44lb to 66lb of food per person are wasted each year.