The British public throw away 40% of the bagged salads they buy every year, making it one of the most wasted food in UK households, according to The Guardian.
The newspaper reports that 37,000 tonnes of salad products, or 178 million bags, are left uneaten every year.
Tesco plans to release a report from UK sustainability organisation Wrap showing that prepared salads remain one of the UK’s most wasted household foods. A previous survey measuring waste between 2007 and 2012 showed that fresh vegetable and salads accounted for 23% of the household food waste.
According to a separate study carried out by Tesco, shoppers do not have a specific meal in mind when they buy their bagged salads, meaning that they are often forgotten about and subsequently binned.
New Packaging
The Guardian also reports that Tesco is aiming to reduce the volume of salad waste with resealable bags. These Tesco own-brand bags will have sliding zip locks and will be made of a thicker film than usual - prolonging their fridge life.
Tesco’s produce buyer manager Adam Hill said, “We’ve been working with our growers to develop new packaging which allows customers to return to their bags of salad over a number of days with very little hassle.
“We know many shoppers roll up their bagged salads after using them once and stick them at the back of their fridges where they are forgotten.”
Wrap have welcomed the launch of these new bags. The organisation's business programmes director Steve Creed said, “We commend Tesco for introducing a new resealable packaging format. […] At present, nearly 40% of lettuce and leafy salads bought by householders end up being thrown away.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
