Tesco Vows To Cut Waste Food Mountain
Published: 30 Oct 2013
Every family in the UK wastes an estimated £700 a year throwing away food, according to Tesco, which is launching a campaign to help curb the problem.
The supermarket's first ever food waste figures for its operations reveal that in the first six months of this year, 28,500 tons of food waste were generated in Tesco stores and distribution centres.
The research shows that 68% of salad to be sold in bags is thrown out, as are just under half of bakery items.
Around 40% of apples are chucked away, a quarter of grapes are wasted between the vine and the fruit bowl, and a fifth of all bananas are unused - with customers throwing one in 10 in the bin.
As a result of the findings, the retailer is to end multibuys on large bags of salad and is developing mix-and-match promotions for smaller bags to try to help customers reduce the amount they are wasting.
It is also removing "display until" dates from fresh fruit and vegetables, using smaller cases in stores and rearranging 600 in-store bakeries to reduce the amount of bread on display, with the aim of better stock control and less waste.
The supermarket tracked 25 best-selling products and combined information with data from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) to give an overall food waste "footprint" for each item.
The last figures published by Wrap in 2011 estimate that 15 million tons of food waste is generated each year in the UK.
Tesco commercial director of group food Matt Simister said: "We've all got a responsibility to tackle food waste and there is no quick-fix single solution.
"Little changes can make a big difference, like storing fruit and vegetables in the right way.
"Families are wasting an estimated £700 a year and we want to help them keep that money in their pockets, rather than throwing it in the bin.
"We're playing our part too and making changes to our processes and in store. Ending multi-buy promotions on large packs of bagged salads is one way we can help, but this is just the start and we'll be reviewing what else we can do.
"We're working with our suppliers to try to cut waste at all stages of the journey from farm to fork."
Wrap director Richard Swannell said he welcomed Tesco's approach to tackling food waste across the whole supply chain.
"Food waste is a global issue, and collaborative action is essential if we are to successfully reduce food waste and reap the financial and environmental benefits of doing so," he added.
Courtesy of the Sky News: http://news.sky.com/story/1157269/tesco-vows-to-cut-waste-food-mountain
