Outrage over food wastage in hotels

KUALA LUMPUR: It’s barely a week into Ramadan but the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia have already received 45 complaints of food wastage during buka puasa.

Its president Datuk Nadzim Johan said that the government should set up an “exchange centre for food”. He added that food wastage is a worrying trend and that it normally occurred within the hotel industry.

“This happens every year. The buffet spreads prepared by hotels were huge. Food was left unfinished by consumers while about half of the dishes at the buffet table were untouched.

“It is best if the untouched food is passed over to the exchange centre and distributed to the less fortunate and other welfare organisations,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

He said that a proper system must be in place to ensure that the exchange centre runs smoothly. He also hoped that legislation will be introduced to prevent hoteliers from wasting food.

“Fine them if they waste food. The same could be imposed on customers. Hoteliers could then impose a ‘surcharge’ on their customers who waste food (at buffets).”

Earlier this month, Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) chief executive officer Datuk Ab Rahim Md Noor was reported as saying that an average 9,000 tonnes of food were discarded daily during Ramadan.

According to SWCorp, the food wasted during the fasting month could have fed 180 million people.