Photo: Food waste
Asia is one of the biggest culprits of global food waste. Approximately 25% comes from South and Southeast Asia. The good news is, ASEAN countries have introduced initiatives to address this issue.
For instance, the Malaysian government announced last year that it is looking to put in place a Food Waste Act in efforts to halt the habit of wasting food. According to Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, a Malaysian disposes an average of almost one kilogram of food every day. Under the act, the government is evaluating the need to impose fines on customers who waste food at hotels and restaurants.
In Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has taken steps to reduce food wastage at both the consumer and private sector levels. In November 2015, NEA launched a food waste reduction programme which served to educate consumers on smarter food purchase strategies and food preparation habits. NEA also works with schools to raise awareness on the importance of reducing food wastage by distributing educational resources such as posters, videos, and games. For the food and beverage sector, NEA launched food waste minimization guidebooks in partnership with Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority. These guidebooks include step by step instructions on how to initiate a food minimization plan.
In Indonesia, citizens introduced the program called “A blessing to share”. This was started by a group of volunteers when they realized that weddings and parties often end with extra food to be thrown away. With the program, at the end of a wedding or event, volunteers are sent to pick the food, and have them stored for careful handling. Checks are in place to ensure that the food is of good quality to be repacked and distributed to those in need. Since its launch in 2017 until November 2018, the volunteer group has saved approximately 4,600KG in surplus of food.