With the regulation changes published by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry last week, 18 million tons of food waste, which is thrown away in places such as hotels, restaurants and cafeterias, is turned into animal feed.
The “Regulation Amending the Regulation on Animal By-Products Not Used for Human Consumption” and “The Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Supply and Use of Feeds” were published in the Official Gazette on August 9th.
In accordance with the Regulation on the Placement and Use of Feeds, it was previously forbidden to feed other animals, except fur animals, with restaurant and cafeteria residues.
In accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Animal By-Products Not Used for Human Consumption, pet animals (pet and ornamental animals) could not be fed with food scraps.
With the new regulation, fur, domestic and ornamental and laboratory animals, as well as animals housed in zoos and circuses, are allowed to be fed with food residues in places such as hotels, restaurants and cafeterias, provided that they are turned into feed.
The collection, classification, transportation, processing, packaging and conditions of the enterprises that can carry out these operations in accordance with the feed safety conditions will be determined by a communiqué to be published within 6 months in order to use the wasted food.
With the Communiqué, certain standards will be established in order to ensure feed safety.
Accordingly, a requirement for approval from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be required for businesses that will carry out the collection, transportation, processing, storage and distribution of food waste.
Food residues can only be procured from food businesses approved/registered by our Ministry. They will also be classified at the collection stage. The spoiled and putrid ones that pose a danger to animal health and foreign materials such as packaging waste, toothpicks and metal will be sorted out.
Collected food scraps will be transported in the most suitable conditions, taking into account their characteristics.
These products, which come to the production enterprises, will be processed under hygienic conditions and with the most appropriate processing technologies, and healthy feeds will be produced.
The activities carried out by these enterprises will be supervised by the Ministry at the stages of collection, transportation, production, distribution and use.
MINISTER KIRİŞCI: “LET'S KEEP OUR FOOD MADE WITH BUTT AND SMART SWEETS”
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Prof. Dr. Vahit Kirişci stated that food waste in our country is very large and reminded that Turkey National Strategy Document and Action Plan were prepared in cooperation with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in order to reduce food loss and waste.
Minister Kirişci emphasized that they aimed to raise awareness in the society with the "Protect Food" campaign and stated that the food and climate crisis occupied the world's agenda, especially during the pandemic, and that citizens should act with this awareness. Using the phrase "Producing requires effort, compassion, patience, care, trust and love", Kirişci called, "Let's protect our food, which is produced with the sweat of our forehead and mind."
Reminding that he had adopted a dog named “Fındık” a while ago, Kirişci noted that the step taken with the regulations will contribute to the prevention of food waste on the one hand, and will pave the way for the production of feed for non-food animals with food scraps, on the other.
EVERY YEAR 18 MILLION TONS OF FOOD IS WASTE
TurkStat publishes the National Inventory Report every year within the scope of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Here, the figures of 2 years ago are announced every year.
Accordingly, the data for 2020 was announced in the April 2022 document, which is the latest version of the report.
In the April 2022 National Inventory Report, the amount of municipal solid waste in 2020 was 34,75 million tons.
Considering that 52,09 percent of the waste here is food waste, the amount of waste food in the garbage was determined as 18,01 million tons.
The report also stated that 603 thousand garbage trucks are needed to transport the discarded food.
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