6.1.5

Food & The Environment

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Food Waste - Households, Producers and Retailers

Food is wasted by households, food retailers and food producers.

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Food waste at home

  • Poor food preparation - e.g. chopping food too finely to use.
  • Ignoring 'use by' dates so food goes off.
  • Food being stored badly or at the wrong temperature so it goes off.
  • Overcooking or burning food so it's no good to eat.
  • Relying too heavily on best before dates - e.g. people throwing away food that's still edible but past this date.
  • Throwing away edible leftovers.
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Food waste by producers and retailers

  • Retailers turning away foods - e.g. if transportation ruins foods, or if foods are imperfect.
  • Retailers overstocking - supermarkets throw away products (even if they're still edible) if they're not sold.
  • Supermarket offers - consumers purchase more than they need and throw away the excess.
  • Bigger and better value products - consumers buy more than they use and throw away the excess.
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Reducing food waste

  • Store food correctly.
  • Consume fridge stock before buying more food.
  • Use all parts of foods - e.g. carcass for stocks and soups.
  • Eat or freeze leftovers.
  • Give unused food to food banks.
  • Plan meals before buying and portions before cooking.
  • Make a shopping list and only buy what's on the list.
  • Shop with a friend or family member and share multipack foods.
  • Buy foods with long use by dates and be conscious of these dates.
  • Bring uneaten food home from restaurants.

Jump to other topics

1Food Preparation Skills

2Food, Nutrition & Health

3Food Science

4Food Safety

5Food Choice

6Food Provenance

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