PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) and Tesco launched the Edible Food Programme today to boost awareness of food wastage among schoolchildren.
Mardi director-general Datuk Dr Mohamad Roff Mohd Nor said 13,000 tonnes of food was wasted daily in the country.
“A total of 3,000 tonnes is still in good condition and can be used to feed more than two million people,” he told a press conference at SK Tropicana, here, today.
“The two main components of this awareneas programme for standard one and two pupils are how to reduce food loss and waste, and how to make use of food waste.
“One of the ways is to convert food waste into compost for plantations,” said Dr Roff.
Tesco Stores (M) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Paul Ritchie said the company was aware of the country’s huge food wastage problem and aimed to educate pupils on how to avoid wasting food.
“Hopefully they can share the knowledge with their parents. The funding for this programme comes from the 20 sen collected for each plastic bag used by customers every Saturday at our supermarkets,” he said.
The programme, held in conjuction with Earth Day celebrations, involves 16 schools nationwide.