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France tries three for stealing out-of-date food

Is it wrong to raid a supermarket waste bin for out-of-date food? The question was once again being asked in France on Tuesday after it emerged three people face court after they were caught "dumpster diving" looking for a meal.

The theft took place in May last year in the southern French town of Frontignan, when the trio went through the bins of a local supermarket and took out-of-date food. 
 
The food was intended to be disposed of, reported French news website France Inter, but was still on company property at the time. 
 
As a result, the three young people were arrested, detained, and will face trial on Tuesday afternoon in Montpellier for "the theft of out-of-date food".
 
The three, a student, an unemployed person and a part time actor, face up to seven years in prison and a €100,000 fine.
 
The case has riled some in France, including members of the League of Human Rights who have organized a protest outside the court, calling the ordeal a "criminilization of poverty". 
 
The fact that French supermarkets throw out perfectly edible food has proved a cause for concern in the past, with reports that some stores had even resorted to spraying their perishables with bleach to prevent others from eating them. 

The court case coincides with the release of the French comedy film “Discount” which looks at the issue of big supermarkets.

In the film staff at a big supermarket, threatened with the sack, end up selling all the out-of-date food to poor people at a discount rate.

There are efforts being made at a political level to look at the issue.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls tasked the Ministry of Agriculture in October to carry out a report in supermarket waste, with results expected in two months.

And in July last year conservative UMP deputy Jean-Pierre Decool proposed a bill that would see supermarkets with a surface area above 1,000 square metres, like Carrefour and Leclerc, forced to hand over their food waste rather than throw it away or destroy it.

But contrary to what you might imagine, some charities are against the idea that supermarkets hand them over their out-of-date food.

For Patrice Dallem, from the Red Cross, it would mean unaffordable “logistical and human costs” for charities if it was their responsibility to hand out the food.

Another Frenchman aiming to raise awareness about Europe's wastage is Baptiste Dubanche, who last year undertook a 3,000km journey from Paris to Warsaw surviving solely on food he salvaged from waste bins.
 
“The project has been a way for me to protest,” he told The Local at the time. “If we produced less, food would become more precious to us.”
 
 
 

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FOOD AND DRINK

Cheese in numbers: France’s obsession with fromage

From cheese types to the amount eaten per year, via cheese favourites - here's a look at how France really feels about fromage.

Cheese in numbers: France’s obsession with fromage

March 27th is the Journée nationale du fromage in France – so here are a few facts about the delicious dairy delicacy.

246

Charles de Gaulle famously once asked of governing France: “How can anyone govern a country with 246 varieties of cheese?”.

His numbers were wrong. Producers in France make closer to 1,000 varieties of cheese – and some have estimated that figure could be pushed up as high as 1,600.

8

The number of cheese ‘families’ in France. A good cheeseboard in France is generally considered to consist of at least three ‘families’ – a soft cheese, a hard cheese and either a blue or a goat’s cheese. Remember, too, an odd number of fromages on a platter is better than an even number, according from cheese etiquettists

READ ALSO France Facts: There are eight cheese families in France

2.5

About how long – in years – it would take you to try every cheese made in France, if you tried a new variety every day. Life goals. 

95

The percentage of people in France who say they eat cheese at least once a week, spending seven percent of their weekly food bill on it.

READ ALSO Best Briehaviour: Your guide to French cheese etiquette

40

Two-fifths of French people say they eat cheese every day

57

The amount of cheese produced, in kilogrammes, in France every second, according to this website, which has a counter to show you how fast that really is. It’s estimated that 1.8 million tonnes of cheese are produced in France every year.

27

The French consume, on average, a whopping 27 kilogrammes of cheese per person per year.

READ ALSO Fonduegate: Why customer service is different in France

3

The three most popular cheeses in France, based on sales, are Emmental, Camembert, and Raclette – followed by mozzarella, goat’s cheese, Comté and Coulommiers.

63

Some 63 cheeses have been awarded the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status, which means they can only be produced in a certain region.

1

France has – or at least soon will have – one dedicated cheese museum. 

READ ALSO Three things to know about the new Paris cheese museum

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