Tesco: 28,500 ton of food dumped in 6 months

Tesco estimated that, across the UK food industry, 40% of apples were wasted, as were just under half of bakery items

Supermarket giant Tesco has revealed it threw away almost 30,000 tonnes of food in the first six months of the year.

Using its own data and industry-wide figures, it has also estimated that, across the UK food industry, 68% of salad to be sold in bags was wasted - 35% of it thrown out by customers.

And it estimated that 40% of apples and 47% of bakery items were wasted.

The retailer is introducing measures to reduce wastage including developing promotions for smaller bags of salad.

The latest figures published by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) in 2011 estimated that 15 million tonnes of food was wasted each year in the UK.

Publishing its food waste figures for the first time, Tesco said that, in the first six months of this year, 28,500 tonnes of food was wasted in Tesco stores and distribution centres.

The supermarket has also given estimates - for the UK food industry as a whole - for the amount of wastage for 25 best-selling products.

Tesco said it was working with its suppliers to try to cut waste at all stages

The estimates were based on data on waste from Tesco supermarkets, distribution centres, suppliers and producers - combined with Wrap figures on levels of waste in the home.

It also estimated that 24% of grapes were wasted between the vine and the fruit bowl and that a fifth of all bananas were unused - with one-in-10 thrown away by customers.

Of the 68% of produce estimated to be wasted across the UK, Tesco said 35% was thrown away by customers, 17% was down to "field losses", 15% was "processing losses" and less than 1% was wasted in stores and distribution centres.

'No quick fix'

Tesco said it was ending multi-buys on large bags of salad, removing "display until" dates from fresh fruit and vegetables, using smaller cases in stores and rearranging 600 in-store bakeries to reduce the amount of bread on display.

And it said it was involved in trials with apple growers to reduce pests and disease.

Other measures to tackle the problem would include providing simple tips to customers about storing fruit.

It said it would also share tips about how to use leftover bread, adding that it was working with grape and banana suppliers to improve delivery times and conditions.

Matt Simister, Tesco's commercial director of group food, said there was "no quick-fix single solution" to tackling food waste.

"Families are wasting an estimated £700 a year and we want to help them keep that money in their pockets, rather than throwing it in the bin," he said.

"We're playing our part too and making changes to our processes and in store.

"Ending multi-buy promotions on large packs of bagged salads is one way we can help, but this is just the start and we'll be reviewing what else we can do."

He said Tesco was working with its suppliers to try to cut waste at all stages of the journey from farm to fork.

Richard Swannell, director of Wrap, said: "We welcome Tesco's approach to tackling food waste across their whole supply chain, and by identifying the hot spots they can tackle these areas effectively.

"Food waste is a global issue and collaborative action is essential if we are to successfully reduce food waste and reap the financial and environmental benefits of doing so."


BBC