To cut food waste, MP Louis Ng wants to table Bill shielding donors from legal repercussions if certain conditions are met

SINGAPORE — When Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Ng saw a hotel restaurant discard heaps of unfinished but still unspoiled buffet food several years ago, it cast his mind back to Singapore's food waste problem.

He spoke to the staff, and then he found out why the restaurant was discarding the food, instead of donating it to charities and the needy.

It was worried about being held responsible for any food safety issues that may arise should the donated food be eaten later when it is no longer fresh.

To this end, the Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP told the media on Thursday evening (April 4) that he had spent the past four years working on a new Private Member's Bill to address these liability concerns by businesses, especially restaurants and hotels, that cause them to be reluctant to donate food. 

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Called the Good Samaritan Food Donation Bill, Mr Ng intends to propose a waiver for food donors from any civil or criminal liabilities arising from death and personal injuries caused by the food they donated, something that has been in the works since 2020.

What is new is that Mr Ng is proposing four conditions that the food donor must meet in order for the waiver to apply to them. After all, Mr Ng said the provisions under the Bill are not meant to absolve food donors from malpractice. 

“We will make sure that food safety and food hygiene standards are met in order for the liability to be waived,” said Mr Ng at the sidelines of the Bill's final public consultation session with industry stakeholders.

The Bill is set to be tabled in the second half of 2024, he said.

This will be his second Private Member's Bill, with his first one introduced in 2020 to protect Singapore's wildlife through amendments to the Wild Animals and Birds Act.

WHY IT MATTERS

The food waste problem in Singapore has worsened over the years.

In 2022, Singapore generated around 813,000 tonnes of food waste, a 0.5 per cent decrease from the 817,000 tonnes recorded in the previous year, according to official statistics. However, the amount of food waste generated has grown by almost 30 per cent over the past 10 years, and with a growing population, these numbers are expected to rise further.

According to the United Nations' 2023 global report on food security and nutrition, Singapore has seen an increase in food insecurity. The prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population rose from 2.8 per cent in the 2014-2016 period to 6.6 per cent in 2020-2022. 

Food insecurity is the condition in which individuals or households do not have reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food.

Mr Ng said the food waste statistics are alarming, adding that most food that is thrown away is still edible at the time.

“Part of the problem is not just inedible food being thrown away. A lot of these foods are actually edible. At the same time, (there are) people who are starving and food insecure… but we’re throwing all this food away. 

“So, through this bill, we're hoping to match it to encourage more people to donate food and provide it to food-insecure communities,” he said. 

This is why in September 2020, Mr Ng formed a committee comprising MPs, industry players, non-governmental organisations, social enterprises and grassroots leaders, and held a 10-month long consultation to formulate the necessary laws.

Many topics were discussed during the consultation process, such as tax exemptions for food donors and providing support for businesses to donate food, said the Nee Soon GRC MP.

However, the committee decided to start by addressing what it felt was the "most pressing concern" of liability waivers, in the hope of persuading more organisations to donate food.

CONDITIONS FOR FOOD DONORS TO BE SHIELDED FROM ANY LIABILITY

Presently, Singapore does not offer liability protection for food donors or food recovery organisations. In lieu of this, indemnity forms are often used to release donors from any risks or liabilities that may arise from untoward incidents.

The proposed law is meant to cover any entity or person that gives away food for a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purpose without any monetary exchange.

This means that if the food is sold or a logistics fee is imposed for any sum, the act cannot be considered a donation and thus will not be protected from liability.

Further to this, the Bill proposes that food donors must also fulfil four conditions to be granted liability waivers:

• The food must not have been “unsafe” and “unsuitable” for consumption when it left the possession or control of the food donor
• The food donor must have also informed the recipient of the food of the handling requirements to ensure that it remained safe and suitable for consumption after it left the possession or control of the food donor
• The food donor must inform the recipient of the food of the time limit for consumption
• The food donor, before donating the food, took all reasonably practicable measures to comply with any applicable requirement under any written law relating to food safety and food hygiene when handling the food

The definition of what constitutes unsafe and unsuitable food follows the Sale of Food Act, said Mr Ng, adding that food is typically considered unsafe four hours after it was prepared, based on the Singapore Food Agency’s (SFA) guidelines for catered food for events. 

In general under the Sale of Food Act, food is deemed unsafe if it poses a risk of causing illness or injury to a person consuming it, provided it is properly handled and consumed according to its intended use. 

The food is also considered to be unsuitable if it is damaged, contains harmful substances, is from diseased animals, contains foreign agents, or has packaging that affects its intended use, among other things.

WHAT HAPPENS IF A FOOD SAFETY MISHAP OCCURS?

Asked what recourse recipients of donated food may take if they suffer from food poisoning, Mr Ng said they may still file a complaint with the SFA, and the agency would carry out its enforcement investigations. This is unchanged from the status quo, said the MP.

However, if the food came from a donor who has met all four conditions for the waiver, the donor would be protected from any liability under the proposed law. 

What this means is that from the onset, recipients of food donations bear any risk of consuming donated food, given that they had been informed by the donor about food safety, such as the time limit for the food to be consumed. 

But should the authorities investigate and uncover a food safety issue when the food was donated, "then there wouldn’t be a waiver of liability because of the first condition, which says the food must not be unsafe or unsuitable”, said Mr Ng. 

“For example, if this complaint goes to NEA (National Environment Agency), they go to this restaurant's kitchen and find rats and cockroaches, then the first criterion would not be met.”