“Conservative” labelling is partly to blame for the high volume of food wasted every week, according to John Portelli of the Malta Organic Agriculture Movement.

Twenty-two per cent of food purchased weekly by residents of Malta ends up in the solid waste stream, according to National Statistics Office figures released this week.

This was calculated using figures from annual household waste surveys (2011/2012) and the 2008 Household Budgetary Survey.

Most products can be eaten after their expiry dates but people throw them away because they think they are inedible

Mr Portelli found it hard to imagine Maltese people blithely throwing away food they had paid for.

“Most products can be eaten after their expiry dates but people throw them away because they think they are inedible,” he said.

In the EU, ‘best before’ dates are manufacturer suggestions for peak quality of pre-packed food. It is not against the law for retailers or caterers to sell products that have passed this date, although many choose to dispose of them to ensure quality or reassure consumers.

Highly perishable foodstuffs, such as dairy products, must have a ‘use by’ date indicated and it is illegal to sell them after this date.

A date of durability is not required for untreated fresh fruits and vegetables.

“Perhaps we need to re-educate people on food production and consumption,” Mr Portelli said.

He suggested that another way to limit food wastage was to encourage the formation of producer organisations so that farmers do not grow a large surplus of the same products.

“Central planning would mean that sufficient amounts of different fruits and vegetables are grown, rather than everyone growing too much of the same thing,” he said.

The NSO figures also showed that the amount of expired or inferior quality foodstuffs destroyed by the Environmental Health Directorate in 2012 was 95,718 tonnes, up from 33,434 in 2002.

This was partly due to increased and more vigilant inspections of retailers and catering establishments, an NSO spokesman explained.

The office issued a statement earlier this week to coincide with the annual June 5 World Environment Day.

This year’s theme was: Think. Eat. Save.

The objective was to reduce food waste, save money, minimise the environmental impact of food production and enable food production processes to become more efficient.

In his most recent weekly address, Pope Francis said: “Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry.”

Martin Galea De Giovanni from Friends of Earth Malta pointed out that food waste also means the waste of resources; more fuel consumption for transportation and the unnecessary use of harmful fertilisers and pesticides.

In addition, rotting food creates more methane, a harmful greenhouse gas over 20 times more powerful at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, about a third of global food production (30 to 40 per cent) is lost or wasted annually.

“In comparison, 22 per cent might not look so bad, but considering that Malta imports around 80 per cent of its food, this makes very little economical sense. Both figures are simply unjustifiable in a world where 1.4 billion individuals are living in poverty,” Mr Galea De Giovanni said.

What should Maltese consumers be doing to reduce food waste?

Before rushing to buy more food, ‘shop’ around in the kitchen first.

Buy only what you realistically need and will use. This might require some careful planning before setting off to buy food. Buying in bulk only saves money if you are able to use the food before it spoils.

Read the labels – understand differences between ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ date.

When eating out, only order what you can finish. Don’t be shy to ask for a doggy bag.

If you absolutely have to throw away some food – use it for compost.

Source: Friends of the Earth Malta