Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/591015
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 OCTOBER 2015 News 9 JAMES DEBONO WHAT would you do if you find a packet of spaghetti in your kitchen with no 'Best Before' date, and you cannot remember when you had bought it? This was one of the questions put to respondents in a European-wide Eurobarometer survey on food waste. While over two-thirds (70%) of all Europeans interviewed said that they would use the package regard- less of the lack of information, only 57% of Maltese said they would do the same. Moreover, only 7% of Maltese would use the product regardless of whether the packaging is damaged – compared to 34% of European who would use it anyway. And while only 24% of Europeans would throw it away, the percentage rises to 37% among the Maltese. Curiously, it is respondents in rich- er nations who are most likely to eat the 'expired' spaghetti regardless of the lack of information on the pack- age. While only 36% of Romanians and 44% of Greeks would consume the product, 85% of Austrians and 84% of German and French consum- ers would do likewise. Moreover, the most likely to throw the product away are the Romanians (56%) and the Greeks (50%). The Maltese emerge as middle-of- the-road food wasters from the sur- vey, being slightly less likely to throw away their spaghetti than the Cypri- ots (44%) but less likely to throw it away than the Italians (30%). The survey also shows that the Maltese are among the most likely to throw away opened food when its storage date expires. In 23 of the 28 member states, a majority of respondents said that they would continue to use opened food products beyond the recom- mended storage date if they looked all right. Austria (82%) stands out for the particularly high proportion of respondents who gave this an- swer. However, in Malta (52%), Bulgaria (57%), Cyprus (58%) Greece (60%) and Romania (65%) a majority said that they would throw the food away regardless of how it looked. These five countries also had the highest proportion of respondents who said they would throw away unmarked non-perishable goods if they could not ascertain their 'Best Before' date. Despite the propensity of the gen- eral Maltese population to dispose of food when it expires, 6% of the Maltese never check expiry dates. This was also the highest percentage among the countries surveys. Respondents were asked how they would react if manufacturers re- moved 'Best Before' dates on labels for certain non-perishable foods, such as rice, pasta, coffee and tea, which currently have to be labelled with this information. Opinion was very divided on this question at the country level. In Cy- prus (77%) and Greece (76%), over three quarters of respondents indi- cated that they would prefer 'Best Before' dates to remain on selected non-perishable items, and in Italy (69%) and Malta (70%) over two- thirds gave this answer. However, in 12 of the 28 Member States, only a minority regarded this informa- tion as necessary, with as little as a quarter (25%) giving this response in France, Austria, Netherlands and Germany. Once again there was a clear divide at the regional level, with nearly six in ten (58%) of those polled in the new member states saying that they would miss the information, com- pared with only four in ten (40%) of respondents in original 15 member states. In all but one (Latvia) of the new member states, a majority of those polled regarded 'Best Before' labels as necessary. NPSFCFET BU.BUFS%FJ #Budget2016 Richer Europeans least likely to throw away expired food 52% of Maltese would throw away opened foods when its recommended storage date expires This is a paid advert transfers, end to training compensation The Association claims that the player gave the club the opportunity to pay him for over two years, after which he resorted to the MFA for help. However, the Maltese football body ruled in favour of the club as the regulations state that money owed must be requested within a year from when they were due. "He has been unable to play or coach in Malta for the past three years," the MFPA said. "He is cur- rently treated as a persona non-grata by the Association only because he wants to be paid for the services he has given and for which he has a document signed by his club attest- ing the sums as due." Unlike other European countries, footballers in Malta cannot move for free when their contracts expire