Tesco has said it will end multi-buys on large bags of salad after finding that two-thirds of produce grown for them is wasted.
The supermarket giant has for the first time revealed food waste figures for its operations.
The statistics show that 68% of salad to be sold in bags is thrown out, 35% of it by customers.
The retailer is introducing measures to reduce wastage including developing promotions for smaller bags of salad.
It said it was also removing "display until" dates from fresh fruit and vegetables, using smaller cases in stores and re-arranging 600 in-store bakeries to reduce the amount of bread on display.
Tesco found that 40% of apples are wasted, as are just under half of bakery items.
A quarter of grapes are wasted between the vine and the fruit bowl and a fifth of all bananas are unused - one in 10 is thrown away by customers.
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.
'No quick-fix solution'The data shows that in the first six months of this year, 28,500 tonnes of food waste were generated in Tesco's stores and distribution centres.
The last figures published by Wrap in 2011 estimate that 15 million tonnes of food waste is generated each year in the UK.
Tesco said it was involved in trials with apple growers to reduce pests and disease.
It said it would provide simple tips to customers about storing the fruit after discovering that more than a quarter of wastage happens at home.
It said it would also share tips about how to use leftover bread, and that it was working with grape and banana suppliers to improve delivery times and conditions.
Matt Simister, Tesco's commercial director of group food, said there was "no quick-fix single solution" to tackling food waste.
"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," he said.
"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."
He said Tesco was working with its suppliers to try to cut waste at all stages of the journey from farm to fork.
Richard Swannell, director of Wrap, said: "We welcome Tesco's approach to tackling food waste across their whole supply chain, and by identifying the hot spots they can tackle these areas effectively.
"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."
No comments:
Post a Comment