FOOD FOR THOUGHT: ARE YOU WASTING FOOD?
New research shows alarming levels of food wastage accross the UK
A survey commissioned by us at TOTAL raised some shocking statistics about how much food waste is produced by UK households. We found that the average households throws away almost £500 worth of food in the bin each year! The cause, according to the survey, could be that we are being inspired by “quick ‘n’ easy” cookery programmes and that two thirds of UK shoppers are now buying cook-from-scratch ingredients compared to only around one in ten taking the ready meal option. However, bad ingredient choices mean many grocery impulse-buys still end up in the bin because they are not versatile enough to be used in multiple recipes.
Mitzie Wilson, food expert and former editor of BBC Good Food and Delicious magazines, suggests that buying and keeping a stock of more versatile products may be the answer. Said Mitzie “sometimes the best intentions of a weekly shop often ends up in the bin. We take advantage of the ‘buy one get one frees’ but without thought to what we will actually use during the week or for the sell buy dates. The research shows that on average we spend around £85 per week on food but nearly 60% of us end up throwing 10% away in the bin each week - fresh fruit, vegetables and bread are the main foods wasted. We can easily cut down this wastage by having key versatile foods in the fridge that can flavour and season foods quickly and easily such as jars of roasted red peppers, curry paste, pesto, jars of chillis, Greek yoghurt, or sweet chilli sauce”.
Try Mitzie's top tips to avoid food wastage
Tomatoes that have gone a little too ripe and soft can be frozen ready to use in your next casserole or bolognese sauce.
Dip slices of stale bread into beaten egg and milk then fry in butter and brown sugar to make a delicious toffee pudding - serve with TOTAL Greek Yoghurt.
Slice up limes or lemons that are left in the fruit bowl and freeze for your ‘G&T’.