Management of unsold non-food and food items
Verified 02 May 2025 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Unsold are products for sale that a company has failed to sell. When a company wants to divest itself of unsold goods, it must ensure that it meets its obligations to combat waste. Products used in the course of a company's business by its staff (office automation, equipment, etc.) are not considered as unsold goods. Presentation of the information to be known.
What applies to you ?
Donations of unsold goods mentioned in this card may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
Non-food and food
The companies concerned by this situation are those who meet the following 2 conditions:
- They produce, import and/or distribute new non-food products
- They are active in the food sector.
General
It is forbidden to throw away unsold items new non-food products intended for sale. Except in exceptional circumstances, these products must be re-used by the gift or the re-use.
Please note
Donations of unsold goods may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
Where products are not to be donated or reused, they must be managed in accordance with hierarchy of waste treatment methods, in the following order of priority:
- Recycling (via the sorting at source)
- Any other recovery, including energy recovery
- Elimination.
Please note
The companies of sectors subject to extended producer responsibility (EPR) must manage the products they own. If they have 3 refusals to donate, they can give these products to a approved eco-body who will manage these products. This rebate is only possible if the financial contribution for these products was paid to their eco-organism when they were placed on the market.
Obligation to donate
Identifying a beneficiary
Unsold new non-food products must be given to associations to combat poverty or approved social and solidarity economy structures ‘Solidarity company of social benefit’ (ESUS).
It is possible to inquire at the House of Associations, which can lead to an organization that can receive donations. As an indication, the list of approved ESUS as of 1 April 2023 is available. Some of them can be contacted to make sure their license is still valid and then they can give them donations.
Products concerned and excluded from the obligation
Certain hygiene and childcare products must be given.
It's the products new following:
- Hygiene products, including beauty products, other than those subject to medical prescription:
- Skin, hair and scalp care and cleansing products, hair dyes, hair styling products
- Care and make-up-removing products intended for the contour of the eyes, make-up-removing products
- Hair bleaching shaving products
- Products to correct body odors: deodorants or antiperspirants
- Products intended to be applied to the lips
- Solar products
- Dental and oral hygiene products
- External personal care products
- Soap
- Sanitary protective products, diapers, disposable hygiene products including toilet paper, tissues, cotton pads, presoaked wipes for body use
- Washing and maintenance products for laundry and dishes, household cleaning products and their accessories including buckets, sponges, mop.
- The following childcare products:
- Any product intended to ensure or facilitate the sitting, washing, sleeping, transport, movement and physical protection of children under four years of age, with the exception of accessories for hygiene, bedding and equipment for the transport of children in passenger cars
- Baby bottles, bottle nipples, pacifiers and teething rings
- Utensils necessary for feeding and preparing the food of young children.
By way of exception, certain products are included in these lists should not be given :
- Products with a minimum durability date of less than 3 months
- Or when no possibility of re-use of these products is possible after contact with the associations and structures of the social and solidarity economy benefiting from the approval "solidarity company of social utility".
Warning
This obligation to donate does not apply products which correspond to at least one of the following situations:
- For which there is no market or demand for products with the same main functions and characteristics as the unsold product (e.g. obsolete IT equipment)
- Whose re-use and re-use entail serious health or safety risks (e.g. objects containing endocrine disruptors prohibited)
- Disposal of which is requested by the competent authority (e.g. the mayor) or by the State (e.g. products placed on the market which do not comply with hygiene and safety standards).
Establishment of a donation agreement
So that the donation can take place, an agreement must be drawn up between the company and the facility receiving the donation. This convention must specify :
- That the donating company must ensure that the unsold donated products are sorted
- That the company making the donation must monitor the applicable health and safety regulatory requirements
- That the recipient of the gift may refuse all or part of the gift until the goods are removed. Such refusal may occur in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution capacities are not sufficient. It may also take place after visual inspection of the products, if they do not appear to be functional or to comply with the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene.
- That any refusal to donate shall be made in writing
- That any acceptance of a donation shall be accompanied by the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the fact of the donation
- That the donating company store the unsold donated products for a sufficient period, agreed between the various parties involved, for the recipient to be able to remove them during that period
- That, in the absence of removal by the recipient on the expiry of the period agreed between the parties or, failing that, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of the offer of gift, the recipient shall be deemed to have refused the gift
- How the traceability of unsold donated products is ensured by both parties
- The conditions under which ownership of unsold goods is transferred from the person making the donation to the recipient of the donation.
The non-new medical equipment from which the actors of the distribution chain and the health institutions wish to divest themselves can also be given free of charge.
This gift must come from one of the following establishments :
- Health care facilities (hospitals, doctors' offices, physiotherapy, maternity wards, etc.)
- Facilities or services for the care of elderly people or providing them with assistance in their daily life, care or social integration at home
- Service provider or distributor of medical devices or their accessories intended to promote the return to home and autonomy of sick persons or persons with disabilities or disabilities
- Pharmacy companion
- Distributor engaged in the storage of medical devices and their distribution or export, excluding sale to the public
The donor must check that the medical equipment is not:
- Withdrawn from the market
- Suspended or withdrawn from certification
- An object for which the CE marking has been improperly affixed
- Equipment secured or immobilized by administrative or judicial action
If the material is in any of these cases, it should not be given.
The donation requires the establishment of an agreement with one or more approved associations and structures of the social and solidarity economy " solidarity company of social benefit ”. That Convention shall state:
- That the donor provides the storage under conditions appropriate to the products concerned, for a specified period, until the equipment ceded has been removed. At the end of that period and in the absence of removal, the beneficiary shall be considered to have refused the donation.
- How is guaranteed, by both parties, the traceability of medical equipment. It provides for the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the actual transfer and the handing over by the donor of a certificate certifying that the medical equipment has been put to a proper use for the intended purpose by its manufacturer and has been regularly maintained in accordance with the provisions laid down by the latter.
- That the beneficiary may refuse all or part of the equipment transferred free of charge, in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution facilities are insufficient, the products are not functional or if it considers that the goods have not been properly used or maintained. The refusal may be expressed at any time up to the time of donation. Refusal is in writing.
- That the beneficiary undertakes to report the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) incidents of vigilance of which he is aware.
In the Annex to this Convention, the following elements shall be mentioned: at the time of each donation :
- Trade name medical equipment, sa product reference
- Unique Identifier of the devices of the product, the serial number medical equipment or, failing this, any information enabling the model of the product to be identified accurately
- Date of first commissioning the medical equipment or, where the device has never been put into service, the date of first acquisition
- Lifetime of the device as defined by the manufacturer
- Attestation certifying that the medical equipment has been put to a proper use for the intended purpose by its manufacturer and has been regularly maintained in accordance with the provisions laid down by the latter.
The Convention and its Annexes shall be provided upon request of the ANSM.
Recycling of unsold non-food items that cannot be donated
Where donation or reuse is not possible, unsold non-food products must be recycled.
The obligation to recycle does not apply where no material recycling facility within 1 500 km of the removal point accepts to recycle these unsold products.
Please note
This exception can occur mainly in overseas departments and regions.
The obligation does not apply nor if the recycling of unsold products has a corresponding cost to one of the following amounts :
- Greater than 20% the selling price of the unsold product
- More than twice the cost of disposing of the product
- Significantly higher than the price borne by other holders of comparable unsold products, or waste from such products, in comparable quantities.
Recovery and disposal of products that cannot be recycled
If unsold non-food may not be given, reused or recycled, they must be recovered.
If recovery is prohibited, or if disposal of non-food products is requested by the Mayor, the President of theEPCI: titleContent or the prefect, the products must then be disposed of.
Penalties provided for
Any failure to comply with these obligations relating to the management of new non-food unsold products shall be subject to a penalty. This is an administrative fine, the amount of which may be increased to €3,000 (natural person) or €15,000 (legal person).
Prioritization in Unsold Food Management
Any company is responsible for marketing and valorization the food it manages.
It must implement the management of its unsold food in the EUorder of priority next:
- Prevention of food waste
- Use of unsold material suitable for human consumption, by donation or processing
- Recovery for animal feed
- Use to create compost for agriculture or energy recovery, including methanisation.
Obligation to donate unsold products fit for human consumption
Companies subject to food donation obligation are those which correspond to at least one of the following categories:
- Retail food trade with a sales area of more than 400 m²
- Food business distributor producing food that can be delivered as is to a food retailer
- Agri-food industry operator producing food that can be delivered as is to a food retailer
- Catering operator with more than 3 000 meals prepared per day or with annual turnover of more than EUR 50 million
- A food wholesale operator producing food that can be delivered as such to a food retail business or whose annual turnover exceeds EUR 50 million.
Please note
Donations of unsold goods may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
Certain commodities are not affected the obligation to donate food. This concerns:
- Foodstuffs whose remaining period until the expiry of the use-by date (DLC) less than or equal to 48 hours, unless an association would be able to distribute such food before that deadline.
- The food of animal origin or containing products of animal origin, unless they are:
- Data provided by the operator of a direct remittance establishment or by a wholesaler and packaged or packaged
- Data by the operator of a approved establishment, if they are defined in its health control plan as being capable of being delivered as such to a food aid operator and bear the health or identification mark
- Data provided by the operator of a mass catering establishment if they are prepackaged, or if they are prepared culinary preparations, or if they are surplus
Please note
Food which is unfit for consumption (cannot be sold or given away) should be prioritized for recovery in animal feed. If this is not possible, they must be used to produce compost for agriculture or be energy-recovered, in particular by methanisation.
Prohibition of destruction of unsold foodstuffs
It is forbidden to deliberately return unsold edible foodstuffs unfit for human consumption or any other form of valorization.
This ban applies to all methods which make products unfit for consumption: burning, destruction, contamination by chemicals, etc.
This is a criminal offense. The penalty is a fine which may not exceed 0.1% of turnover excluding taxes for the last completed financial year of the establishment who committed the offense. It may be accompanied by additional penalty posting or dissemination of the decision delivered.
General
Whether or not the donation is made as part of an obligation to donate, all of the following steps must be met in order for the donation to take place:
- Find an organization that can provide food aid
- Establish a donation agreement with them
- Implement a food donation quality management plan
- Indicate all the mandatory particulars on the foodstuffs given.
Identification of an association authorized to provide food aid
The donation must benefit one or more associations authorized to provide food aid.
To find one, you can to inform the House of Associations. It may refer to an association empowered to receive donations.
Establishment of a donation agreement
The company must propose the conclusion of an agreement with one or more authorized associations to provide food aid. This agreement must be signed at the latest 1 year after:
- Either the beginning of the company's activity
- Or the date on which it reaches the thresholds for which it is subject to the food donation obligation.
If a company is not subject to the obligation but wishes to make food donations, it must also establish an agreement for its donations to take place.
This grant agreement between the company and the association receiving the donations shall specify in particular:
- That the food is sorted by the donor
- That the association receiving the donation may refuse all or part of it where, in particular, its transport, storage or distribution facilities are not sufficient. Refusal may also occur after visual inspection of the foodstuffs if they appear unfit for consumption or if the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene and health security are not complied with.
- How food is removed, transported and stored
- The respective responsibilities of the donor and the recipient association in the operations of removal, transport and storage of food
- How the traceability of the given food is ensured by both parties
- That a withdrawal certificate must be issued for each donation. It justifies the reality of the donation.
Of donation agreement templates are available on the Ministry of Agriculture website.
Food donation: model agreement between distributors and associations
Implementation of a food donation quality management plan
A company that donates food must ensuring the quality of the donation on assignment.
To do this, it must put in place a management plan the quality of food donation. It includes:
- A plan to raise awareness of food waste and food donation among all staff
- A training plan for staff responsible for all or part of the donation operations
- The conditions for the organization of the donation of food, including the management of subcontracting
- Procedures to assess the quality of the donation, to record defects reported by the recipient association of the food donation and to follow up corrective actions taken.
In each of the establishments company, a qualified person must be designated responsible for the coordination, monitoring and compliance with this management plan. It shall ensure that the obligations indicated are complied with.
The donor company must regularly communicate to the association receiving the food donation the quality management plan for the donation and the outcome of the checks. These documents must also be forwarded to the administrative authority (e.g. the City Hall) upon request.
Compulsory particulars on the foodstuffs given
In order to be able to be given, every commodity must to bear a label with :
- Its use-by date if it's very perishable
- Sound lot number
- A statement concerning the possible presence ofreportable allergens.
The mandatory particulars which must appear on the packaging of foodstuffs when they are sold must be kept at the time of donation.
They may appear on the original packaging of the food or, if this is not given, by copying that information on a separate label affixed to the new packaging of the food.
Penalties provided for
In the event of non-compliance with food donation obligations, the following procedure shall apply.
- The company shall be notified the facts alleged, the penalties incurred and the measures prescribed to regularize his situation. It may submit its observations.
- After 10 days, if the situation is not regularized, the company may be obliged to pay a fine of up to €15,000 (natural person) or €75,000 (legal person), and be formal notice regularize his situation within a specified period.
- If the period laid down in the formal notice has elapsed and the Commission has not carried out the measures requested, it may be obliged to:
- Suspend, at her own expense, installations and works, the carrying out of works and operations, or the carrying out of activities which give rise to infringements
- Pay a penalty payment daily by a maximum of €1,500 until the prescribed operations have been carried out
- Pay a fine of up to €150,000 (natural person) or €750,000 (legal person).
FYI
It is an offense to make a donation without first establishing an agreement. She's punished by the fine corresponding to the contravention of 5e class. It rises to €1,500 (natural persons) or €7,500 (legal persons).
Some unsold items are excluded from donation obligations. These are:
- Non-new food
- New non-food which cannot be given
- Foodstuffs which are excluded from the obligation to donate.
Please note
Donations of unsold goods may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
A donation agreement may be established with a recognized organization to be able to donate non-new non-food products (e.g. office equipment for which a company is no longer in use).
This agreement may be refused.
Please note
Company waste must be managed in accordance with the regulations. One company waste management factsheet explains what needs to be done.
Food only
The companies concerned by this situation are those who meet the following 2 conditions:
- They do not produce, import or distribute new non-food products
- They are active in the food sector.
Prioritization in Unsold Food Management
Any company is responsible for marketing and valorization the food it manages.
It must implement the management of its unsold food in the EUorder of priority next:
- Prevention of food waste
- Use of unsold material suitable for human consumption, by donation or processing
- Recovery for animal feed
- Use to create compost for agriculture or energy recovery, including methanisation.
Obligation to donate unsold products fit for human consumption
Companies subject to food donation obligation are those which correspond to at least one of the following categories:
- Retail food trade with a sales area of more than 400 m²
- Food business distributor producing food that can be delivered as is to a food retailer
- Agri-food industry operator producing food that can be delivered as is to a food retailer
- Catering operator with more than 3 000 meals prepared per day or with annual turnover of more than EUR 50 million
- A food wholesale operator producing food that can be delivered as such to a food retail business or whose annual turnover exceeds EUR 50 million.
Please note
Donations of unsold goods may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
Certain commodities are not affected the obligation to donate food. This concerns:
- Foodstuffs whose remaining period until the expiry of the use-by date (DLC) less than or equal to 48 hours, unless an association would be able to distribute such food before that deadline.
- The food of animal origin or containing products of animal origin, unless they are:
- Data provided by the operator of a direct remittance establishment or by a wholesaler and packaged or packaged
- Data by the operator of a approved establishment, if they are defined in its health control plan as being capable of being delivered as such to a food aid operator and bear the health or identification mark
- Data provided by the operator of a mass catering establishment if they are prepackaged, or if they are prepared culinary preparations, or if they are surplus
Please note
Food which is unfit for consumption (cannot be sold or given away) should be prioritized for recovery in animal feed. If this is not possible, they must be used to produce compost for agriculture or be energy-recovered, in particular by methanisation.
Prohibition of destruction of unsold foodstuffs
It is forbidden to deliberately return unsold edible foodstuffs unfit for human consumption or any other form of valorization.
This ban applies to all methods which make products unfit for consumption: burning, destruction, contamination by chemicals, etc.
This is a criminal offense. The penalty is a fine which may not exceed 0.1% of turnover excluding taxes for the last completed financial year of the establishment who committed the offense. It may be accompanied by additional penalty posting or dissemination of the decision delivered.
General
Whether or not the donation is made as part of an obligation to donate, all of the following steps must be met in order for the donation to take place:
- Find an organization that can provide food aid
- Establish a donation agreement with them
- Implement a food donation quality management plan
- Indicate all the mandatory particulars on the foodstuffs given.
Identification of an association authorized to provide food aid
The donation must benefit one or more associations authorized to provide food aid.
To find one, you can to inform the House of Associations. It may refer to an association empowered to receive donations.
Establishment of a donation agreement
The company must propose the conclusion of an agreement with one or more authorized associations to provide food aid. This agreement must be signed at the latest 1 year after:
- Either the beginning of the company's activity
- Or the date on which it reaches the thresholds for which it is subject to the food donation obligation.
If a company is not subject to the obligation but wishes to make food donations, it must also establish an agreement for its donations to take place.
This grant agreement between the company and the association receiving the donations shall specify in particular:
- That the food is sorted by the donor
- That the association receiving the donation may refuse all or part of it where, in particular, its transport, storage or distribution facilities are not sufficient. Refusal may also occur after visual inspection of the foodstuffs if they appear unfit for consumption or if the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene and health security are not complied with.
- How food is removed, transported and stored
- The respective responsibilities of the donor and the recipient association in the operations of removal, transport and storage of food
- How the traceability of the given food is ensured by both parties
- That a withdrawal certificate must be issued for each donation. It justifies the reality of the donation.
Of donation agreement templates are available on the Ministry of Agriculture website.
Food donation: model agreement between distributors and associations
Implementation of a food donation quality management plan
A company that donates food must ensuring the quality of the donation on assignment.
To do this, it must put in place a management plan the quality of food donation. It includes:
- A plan to raise awareness of food waste and food donation among all staff
- A training plan for staff responsible for all or part of the donation operations
- The conditions for the organization of the donation of food, including the management of subcontracting
- Procedures to assess the quality of the donation, to record defects reported by the recipient association of the food donation and to follow up corrective actions taken.
In each of the establishments company, a qualified person must be designated responsible for the coordination, monitoring and compliance with this management plan. It shall ensure that the obligations indicated are complied with.
The donor company must regularly communicate to the association receiving the food donation the quality management plan for the donation and the outcome of the checks. These documents must also be forwarded to the administrative authority (e.g. the City Hall) upon request.
Compulsory particulars on the foodstuffs given
In order to be able to be given, every commodity must to bear a label with :
- Its use-by date if it's very perishable
- Sound lot number
- A statement concerning the possible presence ofreportable allergens.
The mandatory particulars which must appear on the packaging of foodstuffs when they are sold must be kept at the time of donation.
They may appear on the original packaging of the food or, if this is not given, by copying that information on a separate label affixed to the new packaging of the food.
Penalties provided for
In the event of non-compliance with food donation obligations, the following procedure shall apply.
- The company shall be notified the facts alleged, the penalties incurred and the measures prescribed to regularize his situation. It may submit its observations.
- After 10 days, if the situation is not regularized, the company may be obliged to pay a fine of up to €15,000 (natural person) or €75,000 (legal person), and be formal notice regularize his situation within a specified period.
- If the period laid down in the formal notice has elapsed and the Commission has not carried out the measures requested, it may be obliged to:
- Suspend, at her own expense, installations and works, the carrying out of works and operations, or the carrying out of activities which give rise to infringements
- Pay a penalty payment daily by a maximum of €1,500 until the prescribed operations have been carried out
- Pay a fine of up to €150,000 (natural person) or €750,000 (legal person).
FYI
It is an offense to make a donation without first establishing an agreement. She's punished by the fine corresponding to the contravention of 5e class. It rises to €1,500 (natural persons) or €7,500 (legal persons).
Possibility of donating non-food products to a recognized organization
The non-food products may be given to an association fighting against precariousness or an approved social and solidarity economy structure ‘Solidarity company of social benefit’ (ESUS).
Example :
Office equipment for which the company no longer has use.
It is possible to inquire at the House of Associations, which will lead to an association capable of receiving donations. For information, please consult the list of approved ESUS as of 1 February 2025 and to contact some of them to ensure their accreditation is still valid. Donations can then be made to them.
Please note
These donations may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
Establishment of a donation agreement
A convention must be established between the company and an association for combating precariousness or a social and solidarity economy organization enjoying the approval of a ‘solidarity company of social utility’ (ESUS) so that the donation can take place.
This convention must specify :
- That the donating company must ensure that the unsold donated products are sorted
- That the company making the donation must monitor the applicable health and safety regulatory requirements
- That the recipient of the gift may refuse all or part of the gift until the goods are removed. Such refusal may occur in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution capacities are not sufficient. It may also take place after visual inspection of the products, if they do not appear to be functional or to comply with the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene.
- That any refusal to donate shall be made in writing
- That any acceptance of a donation shall be accompanied by the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the fact of the donation
- That the donating company store the unsold donated products for a sufficient period, agreed between the various parties involved, for the recipient to be able to remove them during that period
- That, in the absence of removal by the recipient on the expiry of the period agreed between the parties or, failing that, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of the offer of gift, the recipient shall be deemed to have refused the gift
- How the 2 parties ensure the traceability of the unsold products donated
- The conditions under which ownership of unsold goods is transferred from the person making the donation to the recipient of the donation.
This donation agreement may be refused.
FYI
It is an offense to make a donation without first establishing an agreement. She's punished by the fine corresponding to the contravention of 5e class. It rises to €1,500 (natural person) or €7,500 (legal person).
Only non-food
The companies concerned by this situation are those who meet the following 2 conditions:
- They produce, import and/or distribute new non-food products
- They are not active in the food sector.
General
It is forbidden to throw away unsold items new non-food products intended for sale. Except in exceptional circumstances, these products must be re-used by the gift or the re-use.
Please note
Donations of unsold goods may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
Where products are not to be donated or reused, they must be managed in accordance with hierarchy of waste treatment methods, in the following order of priority:
- Recycling (via the sorting at source)
- Any other recovery, including energy recovery
- Elimination.
Please note
The companies of sectors subject to extended producer responsibility (EPR) must manage the products they own. If they have 3 refusals to donate, they can give these products to a approved eco-body who will manage these products. This rebate is only possible if the financial contribution for these products was paid to their eco-organism when they were placed on the market.
Obligation to donate
Identifying a beneficiary
Unsold new non-food products must be given to associations to combat poverty or approved social and solidarity economy structures ‘Solidarity company of social benefit’ (ESUS).
It is possible to inquire at the House of Associations, which can lead to an organization that can receive donations. As an indication, the list of approved ESUS as of 1 April 2023 is available. Some of them can be contacted to make sure their license is still valid and then they can give them donations.
Products concerned and excluded from the obligation
Certain hygiene and childcare products must be given.
It's the products new following:
- Hygiene products, including beauty products, other than those subject to medical prescription:
- Skin, hair and scalp care and cleansing products, hair dyes, hair styling products
- Care and make-up-removing products intended for the contour of the eyes, make-up-removing products
- Hair bleaching shaving products
- Products to correct body odors: deodorants or antiperspirants
- Products intended to be applied to the lips
- Solar products
- Dental and oral hygiene products
- External personal care products
- Soap
- Sanitary protective products, diapers, disposable hygiene products including toilet paper, tissues, cotton pads, presoaked wipes for body use
- Washing and maintenance products for laundry and dishes, household cleaning products and their accessories including buckets, sponges, mop.
- The following childcare products:
- Any product intended to ensure or facilitate the sitting, washing, sleeping, transport, movement and physical protection of children under four years of age, with the exception of accessories for hygiene, bedding and equipment for the transport of children in passenger cars
- Baby bottles, bottle nipples, pacifiers and teething rings
- Utensils necessary for feeding and preparing the food of young children.
By way of exception, certain products are included in these lists should not be given :
- Products with a minimum durability date of less than 3 months
- Or when no possibility of re-use of these products is possible after contact with the associations and structures of the social and solidarity economy benefiting from the approval "solidarity company of social utility".
Warning
This obligation to donate does not apply products which correspond to at least one of the following situations:
- For which there is no market or demand for products with the same main functions and characteristics as the unsold product (e.g. obsolete IT equipment)
- Whose re-use and re-use entail serious health or safety risks (e.g. objects containing endocrine disruptors prohibited)
- Disposal of which is requested by the competent authority (e.g. the mayor) or by the State (e.g. products placed on the market which do not comply with hygiene and safety standards).
Establishment of a donation agreement
So that the donation can take place, an agreement must be drawn up between the company and the facility receiving the donation. This convention must specify :
- That the donating company must ensure that the unsold donated products are sorted
- That the company making the donation must monitor the applicable health and safety regulatory requirements
- That the recipient of the gift may refuse all or part of the gift until the goods are removed. Such refusal may occur in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution capacities are not sufficient. It may also take place after visual inspection of the products, if they do not appear to be functional or to comply with the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene.
- That any refusal to donate shall be made in writing
- That any acceptance of a donation shall be accompanied by the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the fact of the donation
- That the donating company store the unsold donated products for a sufficient period, agreed between the various parties involved, for the recipient to be able to remove them during that period
- That, in the absence of removal by the recipient on the expiry of the period agreed between the parties or, failing that, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of the offer of gift, the recipient shall be deemed to have refused the gift
- How the traceability of unsold donated products is ensured by both parties
- The conditions under which ownership of unsold goods is transferred from the person making the donation to the recipient of the donation.
The non-new medical equipment from which the actors of the distribution chain and the health institutions wish to divest themselves can also be given free of charge.
This gift must come from one of the following establishments :
- Health care facilities (hospitals, doctors' offices, physiotherapy, maternity wards, etc.)
- Facilities or services for the care of elderly people or providing them with assistance in their daily life, care or social integration at home
- Service provider or distributor of medical devices or their accessories intended to promote the return to home and autonomy of sick persons or persons with disabilities or disabilities
- Pharmacy companion
- Distributor engaged in the storage of medical devices and their distribution or export, excluding sale to the public
The donor must check that the medical equipment is not:
- Withdrawn from the market
- Suspended or withdrawn from certification
- An object for which the CE marking has been improperly affixed
- Equipment secured or immobilized by administrative or judicial action
If the material is in any of these cases, it should not be given.
The donation requires the establishment of an agreement with one or more approved associations and structures of the social and solidarity economy " solidarity company of social benefit ”. That Convention shall state:
- That the donor provides the storage under conditions appropriate to the products concerned, for a specified period, until the equipment ceded has been removed. At the end of that period and in the absence of removal, the beneficiary shall be considered to have refused the donation.
- How is guaranteed, by both parties, the traceability of medical equipment. It provides for the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the actual transfer and the handing over by the donor of a certificate certifying that the medical equipment has been put to a proper use for the intended purpose by its manufacturer and has been regularly maintained in accordance with the provisions laid down by the latter.
- That the beneficiary may refuse all or part of the equipment transferred free of charge, in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution facilities are insufficient, the products are not functional or if it considers that the goods have not been properly used or maintained. The refusal may be expressed at any time up to the time of donation. Refusal is in writing.
- That the beneficiary undertakes to report the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) incidents of vigilance of which he is aware.
In the Annex to this Convention, the following elements shall be mentioned: at the time of each donation :
- Trade name medical equipment, sa product reference
- Unique Identifier of the devices of the product, the serial number medical equipment or, failing this, any information enabling the model of the product to be identified accurately
- Date of first commissioning the medical equipment or, where the device has never been put into service, the date of first acquisition
- Lifetime of the device as defined by the manufacturer
- Attestation certifying that the medical equipment has been put to a proper use for the intended purpose by its manufacturer and has been regularly maintained in accordance with the provisions laid down by the latter.
The Convention and its Annexes shall be provided upon request of the ANSM.
Recycling of unsold non-food items that cannot be donated
Where donation or reuse is not possible, unsold non-food products must be recycled.
The obligation to recycle does not apply where no material recycling facility within 1 500 km of the removal point accepts to recycle these unsold products.
Please note
This exception can occur mainly in overseas departments and regions.
The obligation does not apply nor if the recycling of unsold products has a corresponding cost to one of the following amounts :
- Greater than 20% the selling price of the unsold product
- More than twice the cost of disposing of the product
- Significantly higher than the price borne by other holders of comparable unsold products, or waste from such products, in comparable quantities.
Recovery and disposal of products that cannot be recycled
If unsold non-food may not be given, reused or recycled, they must be recovered.
If recovery is prohibited, or if disposal of non-food products is requested by the Mayor, the President of theEPCI: titleContent or the prefect, the products must then be disposed of.
Penalties provided for
Any failure to comply with these obligations relating to the management of new non-food unsold products shall be subject to a penalty. This is an administrative fine, the amount of which may be increased to €3,000 (natural person) or €15,000 (legal person).
Some unsold items are excluded from donation obligations. These are:
- Non-new food
- New non-food which cannot be donated.
Please note
Donations of unsold goods may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
A donation agreement may be established with a recognized organization to be able to donate non-new non-food products (e.g. office equipment for which a company is no longer in use).
This agreement may be refused.
Please note
Company waste must be managed in accordance with the regulations. One company waste management factsheet explains what needs to be done.
Other cases
The companies concerned by this situation are those who meet the following 2 conditions:
- They do not produce, import or distribute new non-food products
- They are not active in the food sector.
Companies in this situation are not affected by the obligations relating to the management of unsold new non-food products. Nor are they concerned by the obligations relating to the management of unsold foodstuffs.
Please note
Company waste must be managed in accordance with the regulations. One company waste management factsheet explains what needs to be done.
Possibility of donating non-food products to a recognized organization
The non-food products may be given to an association fighting against precariousness or an approved social and solidarity economy structure ‘Solidarity company of social benefit’ (ESUS).
Example :
Office equipment for which the company no longer has use.
It is possible to inquire at the House of Associations, which will lead to an association capable of receiving donations. For information, please consult the list of approved ESUS as of 1 February 2025 and to contact some of them to ensure their accreditation is still valid. Donations can then be made to them.
Please note
These donations may benefit from the tax reduction for company sponsorship.
Establishment of a donation agreement
A convention must be established between the company and an association for combating precariousness or a social and solidarity economy organization enjoying the approval of a ‘solidarity company of social utility’ (ESUS) so that the donation can take place.
This convention must specify :
- That the donating company must ensure that the unsold donated products are sorted
- That the company making the donation must monitor the applicable health and safety regulatory requirements
- That the recipient of the gift may refuse all or part of the gift until the goods are removed. Such refusal may occur in particular if its transport, storage or redistribution capacities are not sufficient. It may also take place after visual inspection of the products, if they do not appear to be functional or to comply with the regulatory requirements in force concerning hygiene.
- That any refusal to donate shall be made in writing
- That any acceptance of a donation shall be accompanied by the establishment of a withdrawal certificate which justifies the fact of the donation
- That the donating company store the unsold donated products for a sufficient period, agreed between the various parties involved, for the recipient to be able to remove them during that period
- That, in the absence of removal by the recipient on the expiry of the period agreed between the parties or, failing that, on the expiry of a period of one month from the date of the offer of gift, the recipient shall be deemed to have refused the gift
- How the 2 parties ensure the traceability of the unsold products donated
- The conditions under which ownership of unsold goods is transferred from the person making the donation to the recipient of the donation.
This donation agreement may be refused.
FYI
It is an offense to make a donation without first establishing an agreement. She's punished by the fine corresponding to the contravention of 5e class. It rises to €1,500 (natural person) or €7,500 (legal person).
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Compulsory particulars of foodstuffs for consumers
Sanctions
Order of implementation of actions to combat food waste
Prohibition of rendering consumable foodstuffs unfit for consumption
Obligation to donate food
Management of non-food unsold goods & associated penalties
Donation Agreement for Medical Equipment
Penalty for making consumable foodstuffs unfit for consumption
Conditions for donation of unsold foodstuffs (exceptions, agreement, management plan)
Conditions for donation of non-food unsold goods
Donations of unsold goods by REP channels
Transfer of medical equipment free of charge
Exception to the donation of certain foodstuffs of animal origin
Service-Public.fr
European Union
Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion
Ecological Transition Agency (Ademe)
Ministry of Economy
National Network of Associations - RNMA
Ministry of Economy