An employee claims he was sacked by Waitrose for eating a doughnut that was about to be thrown in the bin.
David Graham said he needed a 'sugar hit' during his shift and thought there was no harm in eating it as it was being chucked away.
But the supermarket reportedly took a dim view and launched an investigation which led to him being dismissed for theft.
Mr Graham, 28, worked nights at the supermarket giant's store in Poole, Dorset, stacking shelves and picking orders.
He said he had been 'frustrated' watching food go to waste on his nightshifts when he decided to take a stand.
Mr Graham started working at the store in 2017 and said previously the company's policy had been that food waste would be given to charity or go to staff.
But he claims the policy changed in December last year when a new national rule was introduced that any waste still on the shelves at 9pm had to be binned.
Mr Graham said he tried to reason with the store manager but a 'militant tone' was set 'allowing no compromise or conversation'.
He said what the store presented to the public and media about tackling food waste was very different to what actually happened in store.
He decided to protest by continuing to eat the food waste doughnuts against store policy.
Waitrose launched an investigation and after several 'highly stressful' weeks trying to defend himself, Mr Graham was sacked on the grounds of theft.
Mr Graham said: "Throughout my time at the store, I have been disheartened by the level of food waste that was generated that wasn't offered to charity or the employees.
"My first memory of working at the store was seeing four large chickens on a Saturday night going down to the bins.
"A simpler perk prior to the policy change was the option to consume any food waste found in the bakery self service areas such as croissants and jam doughnuts.
"Seeing the bakery employee putting them in the bin at 2am in the morning when a sugar hit would be helpful was very frustrating to see.
"By this point the free canteen food that was also offered due to the cost of living crisis had also ceased.
"Being hungry and frustrated with what Waitrose was telling the public versus what was actually happening, I decided the only way to begin a conversation was to protest by continuing to eat the food waste doughnuts.
"I expected to be caught, I expected a conversation to start on how to reinstate the perk and reduce the other food waste, and I even considered they may take it to a final warning, but I never expected what followed by an employee owned company.
"Ultimately they have sacked a long-serving employee over a doughnut.
"I'm disappointed by the actions of the Parkstone store and I'm sure their customers will also be saddened to hear this."
Waitrose said it has clear rules in place about employees eating stock and it donates whatever food it can to charity.
A spokeswoman said they cannot discuss individual cases about employees, but that there are 'good reasons it has strict rules regarding the consumption of food by partners'.
She said: "Like most major food businesses, we have clear rules over the consumption of food by employees.
"It's our aim that no edible food is wasted and when products are near the end of their shelf life, we donate whatever we can to local charities with any suitable food remaining being shared fairly between our partners."
