Japan Drafts Guidelines for Leftover Takeaway

TOKYO, Jul 27 (News On Japan) - Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has initiated the creation of guidelines for taking home leftovers as part of its efforts to reduce food waste. Restaurants are hopeful for clear directions on preventing food poisoning.

According to the Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan's domestic food waste in fiscal 2022 amounted to 4.72 million tons. This is equivalent to each person discarding about a bowl of food every day.

The ministry aims to develop hygiene guidelines for taking home leftovers from restaurants and held its first discussion meeting on the matter on July 26.

A hotel in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, has been actively working to reduce food waste since 2019, successfully cutting down the amount of kitchen waste by approximately 16%, including from banquets.

The hotel has implemented its own cautious rules for takeaways, such as generally not allowing them during the summer.

Iwasaki, the Executive Chef of Hotel Metropolitan Edmont, explained, "The most frightening thing for us chefs is food poisoning. As a rule, we select items for takeaway that have been heated to 75 degrees Celsius for more than a minute."

While takeaways are based on the customer's responsibility, addressing food poisoning remains a challenge.

Matsuda, the General Manager of Hotel Metropolitan Edmont, shared, "We feel deeply troubled when the food we have prepared is discarded. By establishing a certain system or rules, we believe we can alleviate these concerns and advance this initiative."

The ministry plans to finalize the guidelines for restaurants and buffets by the end of the fiscal year.

Source: ANN

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