Pizza entrepreneur pushes for giveaway protection

The owner of a regional pizza chain used her participation on a panel at the NRA Show to call for more protection from litigation and criminal charges for restaurants that donate food.

“A friend of mine saw a major chain throwing away 40,000 pounds of chicken,” Sue LaTour, owner of Michigan-based Passport Pizza said, during a session about the pizza industry at the NRA Show. “It turned out they were throwing it away because it didn’t meet their size standard. She said they didn’t want to throw the food out; they wanted to give it away. But how could they ensure they weren’t making anyone sick?”

LaTour is supporting Michigan legislation that would protect restaurants from criminal and civil liability for donating food to nonprofit organizations.  The protection does not extend to food that was purposely adulterated or unfit for human consumption.

LaTour is working with the Michigan Restaurant Association to push through the bill. The association points out to lawmakers that there would be no cost to taxpayers if the legislation is passed.

Michigan is the home state of Domino’s and Little Caesars.

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