Economic agents will be encouraged to donate food to charities and food banks to help vulnerable people and prevent food waste. Parliament gave a final reading to a draft law to amend the law on the prevention of food loss and waste and the Fiscal Code.
Under the bill, a series of food products that are safe for human consumption could be donated. These are products that have lost their commercial aspect due to damage to the secondary packaging, products that do not meet the manufacturer’s specifications for variations in color, size or shape, products with labelling errors, as well as when a surplus of food is expected for a certain holiday season or specific holidays.
The economic operator that will donate food will benefit from the same tax deductions and concessions as in the case of residues, waste and natural perishability. The deduction of food transferred by donation by food operators will be within the limits approved annually by heads of institutions.
In the European Union, it is estimated that around 20% of all food produced yearly is lost or wasted and the related costs are estimated at about €143 billion a year. In the Republic of Moldova, there are no statistical data on food waste, but the State Tax Service’s reports for 2022 show that more than 800 economic agents write off losses and residues to the value of over 1.4 billion lei. Also, an inhabitant of the country throws away an average of about 76 kilograms of food annually.
