Dh1,000 fine for wasting food in Saudi Arabia proposed

40 per cent of the food in the country is wasted.

To encourage people to avoid wasting food, the food bank in Saudi Arabia has proposed a fine of SAR1,000 (Dh979) for every kilo of surplus food.
40 per cent of the food in Saudi Arabia is wasted, estimates the country's Environment, Water and Agriculture Ministry.
The proposal for the fine has come to the fore after a UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report said that Saudi Arabia was at the top of the world's food waste index, Al Arabiya reported. 
A proposal for the compulsory agreement to curb food wastage has been put forth to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The proposal (as given by the Saudi food bank) calls for the existence of an obligation between food preservation centers, restaurants and wedding halls to restrain them from wasting food in the country.
This has been communicated by Faisal Shoshan, the Secretary General of the food bank in Saudi Arabia as quoted. He said that the imposition of the fine on surplus food and administering of binding agreements on food facilities such as restaurants, hotels and wedding units will help in curbing the problem of food wastage.
A proposition for the existence of authorised or licensed contracts between organizations and hotels was also put forth.

• Saudi Arabia
• MENA