Survey Reveals 10 Percent Of Weekly Food Shop Wasted

8 November 2011

According to new research, almost 10 of the food bought in the average British weekly shop is binned, while 8 percent admit to regularly throwing away up to a quarter of their food

The survey was carried out by Sainsbury's in conjunction Wrap, highlighting reasons for people throwing food out.

The main culprits for the food waste was either too much being cooked or prepared, or food being left to go off.

Supermarkets have also been questioned for throwing away large quantities of food that is still safe to eat.

Emma Marsh, head of Love Food Hate Waste campaign at Wrap, said: "The industry has a huge role to play in helping reduce the amount of food we waste and we are working together to achieve solid results.

"Our research shows, for example, that Brits throw away around 37m slices of bread a day in the UK and we have a long way to go to prevent this. We hope that by working with Sainsbury's, we will help individuals enjoy their food more by learning to love their leftovers, which will help the environment and save money."

Households could save £50 a month, or £12bn a year across the UK, by taking steps to tackle the growing problem of food waste.

Almost 46 percent admitted they do not know the correct way to store certain foods safely and 67 percent of consumers revealed they spontaneously decide what to buy in the store, not make a list.

Jack Cunningham, Sainsbury's head of climate change and environment, said: "No one wants to waste food, but unpredictable lifestyles and hectic schedules mean many think it is unavoidable."

Environment, food and rural affairs minister Lord Taylor said: "Since publishing the Waste review we've introduced new guidance on food date labelling to help clear up confusion for customers and stop good food going to waste. We have also set up responsibility deals with the food industry to tackle waste in the supply chain and help them to save money."

CLICK HERE for survey result

www.wrap.org.uk

Darrel Moore