A new study by British supermarket Sainsbury’s has revealed how potatoes, bread and milk are among the UK’s most wasted foods with 1.65 million tonnes being binned every year from these three foods alone.
Annually, 733,000 tonnes of potatoes are thrown away, according to the research, which was carried out as part of the supermarket chain's '...to the rescue’ waste campaign.
Each year 55 tonnes of protein foods are thrown in the bin, said the retailer. Fibre, commonly found in fruit and vegetables, is also among the top binned nutrients with carrots being one of the most thrown away fibre providers. Every 80g portion of discarded carrots equates to 2.6g of fibre. Meanwhile, around 353 million litres of milk - containing calcium - also goes to waste annually.
Sainsbury’s says it wants to help customers to make small changes to their routine to make a big difference to their food waste footprint. As part of the ‘…to the rescue’ campaign, recipes and handy tips, such as storing potatoes in the cupboard rather than the fridge, have been created to help people reduce their food waste.
Commenting on the new campaign, Annie Denny, nutritionist at Sainsbury’s, said: “We’re all guilty of throwing away lots of key nutrients that help our bones grow, fight against illness and maintain organ function – all vital to keeping us healthy. By making the most of our food, we can all go a long way to ensuring we’re not just saving money but also taking on board enough of those key nutrients to do their jobs.”
Paul Crewe, head of sustainability at Sainsbury’s, said: “Throwing away food is often associated with wasting money, but our research published today as part of our ‘…to the rescue’ campaign shows there is also a wider health issue. Our easy tips and recipes have been created to assist with both reducing food waste and benefiting the health of UK families."
None of Sainsbury’s food waste goes to landfill and any surplus food fit for human consumption is donated to charities, he added.
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