A Sainsbury’s-commissioned study has found that an ordinary British family of four wastes £58.30 worth of food per month, although 81 per cent of such families believe the they waste less than £30 worth, TheGuardian.com reports.
Moreover, 93 per cent of UK consumers believe they waste less than the equivalent of five meals in a given month, though in reality the volume of foodstuffs wasted is enough to account for more than twice as much – 11 meals per person per month – the YouGov report has found.
In Swadlincote, a UK town, Sainsbury’s has invested a million pounds in investigating how technology can be used to combat the ubiquitous problem. This involves a ‘smart fridge’, which is linked to people’s phones, and allows them to be reminded of their fridge’s food inventory.
The ‘Waste Less, Save More’ initiative is also examining the ways food packaging and labelling could be changed to combat wastage.
Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe said, "Food waste is one of society’s biggest environmental issues at the moment and there is a genuine passion across the UK to tackle it. We hope to work with shoppers and householders to find ways of making behavioural change, which is key to long-term success."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
