Vote now: Should restaurants be able to deny you a doggy bag?

Some eateries are refusing to allow diners to take leftovers home. So in the interest of helping reduce food waste, delicious. unpacks the issue. Have your say.

We’ve all been there. You ordered hungry, ravenous even, and the dishes start coming. And coming.

The growling in your stomach is replaced by a sinking feeling as you shuffle plates to squeeze another side dish onto the groaning table. You’ve literally bitten off more than you can chew.

Oh well, there’s lunch tomorrow sorted. You can just ask the waiter for some flimsy takeaway containers and pack it all up. Relief.

But what happens if they say no?

While on one hand there is an argument for food safety – no restaurant wants to be accused of giving a guest food poisoning because they’d left their doggy bag in their car for a few hours.

The minute a meal leaves the kitchen the clock is ticking for bacteria production, and a room-temperature box of leftovers is the perfect breeding ground for the little nasties.

It’s important to note, however, that the NSW Food Act of 2003 does not prevent restaurants from providing doggy bags however, restaurants may elect not to provide containers.

Should doggy bags be allowed?

Customers can take their own container to take food home by law.

It’s the responsibility of the consumer to store and handle food taken away from the restaurant safely to minimise the risk of food poisoning.

Sadly, there are more than a few restaurants around that won’t allow doggy bags full stop. Few are the restaurants that will pack your leftovers for you.

When we spoke with the team Crown Sydney, they explained that due to OHS concerns, they do not allow you to take away any of your uneaten food. They do, however, allow you to order from the menu as takeaway.

During the early days of the Great Reemerging (post-lockdowns) it made sense that leftover food had no place going back into the kitchen, and we happily packed our own scraps at our table.

Gone, it seems, are the days of a discreet word with your waiter who returns with a paper bag of your misjudged appetite.

When going out to dinner is a luxury at the best of times, even more so now with “the cozzie-livs” crisis, does it make sense to throw away perfectly good food? And why do we feel the shame when that little stack of empty containers is plonked at our tables?

Related stories:

30 incredible recipes that minimise food waste

How food waste is contributing to climate change

There’s a certain elitism when you don’t have to care about food waste. It may be nothing for a well-to-do to leave half a plate of pâtè behind, but for many of us, it’s a luxury that we can’t afford to waste.

Perhaps it’s time to forget having less money, appetite or status, and focus on wasting less.

Food wastage is a very real problem, with more than 20 per cent of Australian produce hitting the bins before it even hits our supermarkets. All while 3.3 million Australians are living below the poverty line.

There are some really clever people out there doing really smart things to help fight this waste on a larger scale, but one small thing that we can do is swallow our last dumpling along with our pride and normalise the doggy bag. And hey, there’s lunch sorted.

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Originally published as Vote now: Should restaurants be able to deny you a doggy bag?