Fresher food in store (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford-based Morrisons launches bid to cut down on buyers' waste

8:48am Wednesday 31st March 2010 in Business By Chris Holland

Morrisons says it is commited to cutting down on food waste

Morrisons has launched a range of measures aimed at reducing the 8.3m tonnes of food which UK consumers throw away each year.

It said at least £12bn worth of food that could have been eaten is thrown out, costing an average £680 per family The Bradford-based supermarket’s ‘Great Taste Less Waste’ programme includes the ‘smart’ use of packaging to improve the life of produce and keep it in good condition Morrisons is rolling out ‘Best Kept’ labelling information on more than 100 lines of fresh fruit and vegetables, advising consumers how they should store items to keep them fresh.

It is the first major supermarket to trial ‘easy pick’ bags for loose items which give clear information on how best to store fresh produce at home.

Morrisons has begun research in conjunction with Writtle College, a partner of the University of Essex, to understand how packaging affects the life of fresh fruit and vegetables .

Other research commissioned by Morrisons found 44 per cent of shoppers believed prolonging the life of fresh produce would help them waste less.

Morrisons is also providing clearer labelling with guidelines on food storage and running a consumer education programme to reduce waste through effective meal planning The research found 57 per cent of people over-estimate the quantity of food that will be eaten during a meal and 21 per cent said recipe advice would help cut down the amount of waste Jane Speakman, head of produce, said: “Fruit and vegetables are the most frequently wasted foods, therefore Morrisons is focusing on fresh produce.

“Two thirds of consumers regularly throw away fresh produce despite feeling guilty about wasting both food and money.

“Our Great Taste Less Waste campaign aims to help customers use up what they buy and get more meals for their money to cut down on food waste.”

She said waste food had both high environmental and economic costs, with rotting food in landfill sites creating methane which contributed to climate change.

Research for Morrisons found most waste could be avoided with better storage and preparation advice.

One example was prolonging the life of broccoli by two days through keeping it packaged and in a fridge.

Tomatoes were best kept at room temperature, but 83 per cent of people stored them in the fridge, while apples were best kept refrigerated, although 66 per cent of people kept them in fruit bowls at room temperature.

Morrisons said it was focused on finding the balance between minimising product packaging, whilst protecting food.