Household food waste in the UK is a big problem (Cooper et al., 2018), it contributes more than restaurants, hotels and even supermarkets. It is estimated that the UK wastes around 9.52 million tonnes of food a year and most of this consists of healthy food such as fresh fruit and vegetables, not only is this nutritionally wasteful but it also contributes to around 3% of UK greenhouse gas emissions (Which?’, 2019).
Here are some simple tips to help reduce food waste, eat healthier, save money and benefit the environment:
- Store herbs in a pot of water in the fridge to keep them fresher for longer
- Choose unpackaged fruit and vegetables so that you’re more likely to buy what you need
- The average UK fridge runs at 7⸰C, turn it down to 4⸰C to keep certain foods such as milk preserved for longer
- Freeze any surplus food that you have, here are some examples of food that freeze well:
Avocado
Bacon
Butter
Double cream
Tomatoes
Bread
Milk
Mushrooms
Cheese – grate hard cheese for ease of use, soft doesn’t defrost well but is safe
Cooked rice, chicken and pasta
Bananas
Remember to label and portion out for ease of use.
- Use a meal planner to organise your meals each week and buy only what you need
- Be aware of portion sizes, it’s better to dish out less food and any leftovers can be eaten the next day instead of scraped off the plate into the bin, it is also a good way to avoid over-eating.
- Keep bags of salad and greens fresher by placing a piece of kitchen roll in the bag to prevent leaves going slimy.
- Use-by dates are an indicator of when a food is no longer safe to eat, Best-before dates refer to the quality of the food, they are perfectly safe just not at their prime so can still be eaten.
- Having an organised fridge can be helpful, try to position foods with shorter use by dates at the front so that they are less likely to be missed, place fruit and vegetables in the salad drawer and try not to overcrowd.
References
Cooper, K. A., Quested, T. E., Lanctuit, H., Zimmermann, D., Espinoza-Orias, N., & Roulin, A. (2018). Nutrition in the Bin: A Nutritional and Environmental Assessment of Food Wasted in the UK. Front Nutr, 5, 19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2018.00019
Which?’. (2019). Three Food Waste Facts Everyone Needs to Know. www.which.co.uk/news/article/three-food-waste-facts-everyone-needs-to-know-aIHRD3H1gpEv
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