Measures to reduce food waste
Published on: Tuesday, April 11, 2023
By: Mohd Izham Bin Hashim
“We are facing situations where the less fortunate are hoping for donations so they can eat but at the same time, there are surplus of food from those who can afford it,
Kota Kinabalu: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is working on measures to prevent food wastage at eateries and hotels offering buffets.Its Deputy Minister Chan Foong Hin said he agreed with suggestions on the need to engage with relevant players on the matter.
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He said food inequality in the country was a serious problem, to the extent that even the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah had reminded people against wasting food.
“We are facing situations where the less fortunate are hoping for donations so they can eat but at the same time, there are surplus of food from those who can afford it.
“The Ministry will study the suggestion and we will see how to manage the problem. The concept is more or less similar to a food bank.
“We will focus on channelling surplus food for those who need it. For now, in my constituency, I have yet to do it,” the Kota Kinabalu Member of Parliament said to reporters during the Agrobank Ramadan iftar event at a hotel, here, Sunday night.
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He said last year before the 15th General Election, the Housing and Local Government Ministry had proposed to enact a law on sustainable food waste management.
However, Chan said it would be inappropriate for him to comment further on the follow-up action of other ministry.
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“But there is an initiative dubbed as MySaveFood by Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), a research and development institute, under my Ministry to raise awareness on food wastage.”
Also collaborating in the effort were Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management (SWCorp), Pertubuhan Pemuda GEMA Malaysia (Pemuda GEMA) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Malaysia).
Earlier, Chan and Agrobank President and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin presented cash donations worth RM5,000 each to Rumah Anak Kesayangan Sabah and Tahfiz Ar Rahmah centre.
The asnaf group also received duit raya worth almost RM10,000.
Meanwhile, Deputy Local Government Development Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the amount of solid waste, in particular food waste, collected by the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) during Ramadan is increasing every year.
He said 252,521 tonnes of solid waste was collected during Ramadan last year compared to 208,143 tonnes in 2019.
“The amount increases every year and in the past five years, we have seen an
increase of up to 21 per cent and
from the Ministry’s point of view, the first step is to reduce the amount of food waste.
“Based on the data provided, a total of 44.5 per cent of solid waste collected is food waste and that number is quite substantial in terms of value,” he told a press conference after opening the Johor SWM Environment Operations in conjunction with the 2023 Aidilfitri.
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