Hartwig Fischer, of Chancellor Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, said on Thursday it would be a shame to destroy the lasagne and other ready made meals. "These are high-quality products found in Germany, not health-endangering foods," he said.
He said they should be relabelled and given to organisations which feed homeless and poverty stricken people.
The federal association of soup kitchens appeared reluctant, a spokeswoman in Berlin saying that while there was uncertainty among the public about the products, there was no demand for them.
Spokesman for the German Catholic Bishops Matthias Kopp said on Friday the idea was insulting to those in need. "Everyone in need must receive minimum quality standards. Such a suggestion can only result in head-shaking," he told Bildnewspaper.
And Christian Bakemeier, manager of a church-related soup kitchen added that: "one should not expect people in need to eat food which has been removed from sale."
He said the fact that increasing numbers of people in the country were having to live on donated food should rather prompt politicians to think about solving the poverty problem in Germany.
DPA/The Local/hc
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