British consumers throw away almost 80 million usable items of food every week, research has shown on Stop Food Waste Day —Wednesday, April 26.
Data compiled by the team behind the Too Good To Go app found that every week, this total includes 18 million meat and dairy items, 22 million bread and pasta items, 30.9 million fruit and vegetables, and 8.7 million sweets, crisps, and chocolate. The total worked out as enough to feed the population of Thailand.
Sophie Trueman, country director of Too Good To Go UK and Ireland, said: “We know that everyone is feeling the pinch of the cost-of-living crisis and the price of everyday essentials has continued to soar.
“We are on a mission to fight food waste, something which is not only great for our planet, but can also help consumers cut costs — ultimately making their money go further.
“Our belief is that you don’t need to sacrifice buying your favourite foods in order to be sustainable and save money — you can, instead, adapt your habits, so you make the most out of everything you buy.”
How to avoid food waste
1. Plan ahead
Plan your meals for the week in advance so you know exactly what you need to buy. Write a shopping list and then stick to it when you’re in the supermarket — try not to be sucked in by impulse buying.
2. Make use of the whole ingredient
Embrace the chance to explore new ways of working with ingredients. Why not have a go at making a broccoli pesto using the broccoli stalks that you’d usually throw away, or keeping the peel on your potatoes when you’re mashing them?
3. Don’t discount fruit and veg based on how it looks
Don’t judge food by its appearance! Oddly shaped or bruised fruits and vegetables are often thrown away because they don’t look ‘perfect’ but, in reality, they taste exactly the same.
4. Take care of how you store food
Storing your food properly is one of the keys to extending its lifespan. For instance, onions can make root vegetables go bad quickly so it’s best to keep them stored apart from things like potatoes or carrots.
5. The difference between the ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates
There’s a big difference between ‘best before’ and ‘use-by’ dates. Often food is still safe to eat after the ‘best before’ date, whereas it’s the ‘use-by’ date that indicates when it’s no longer safe to eat. Before throwing out food that’s past its ‘best before’ date, make sure you use your senses to look, smell, and taste whether it’s actually gone off.
What is Stop Food Waste Day 2023?
The campaign is held every year on April 26 and was started in 2017 by Compass Group USA.
It seeks to educate people on the realities and devastation caused by food waste, as well as encouraging solutions to tackle it.
A statement from organisers read: “Our mission at Stop Food Waste Day is to ignite change regarding the global food waste issue.
“We do this by drawing attention to the problem, at the same time educating through engaging with society at all levels and sharing practical, creative, and impactful ways we can all change our behaviour to minimise food waste.”
