Supermarket
giant promises to improve processes and educate customers to cut waste
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| Tesco says most of its salad is wasted. Photograph: Sarah Lee |
Tesco is
dropping some food promotions after finding that two-thirds of produce grown
for bagged salad is wasted.
The
supermarket giant has revealed food waste figures for its operations for the
first time, revealing that 68% of salad to be sold in bags is thrown out – 35%
of it in the home.
As a result
of the findings, it is to end multi-buys on large bags of salad and is
developing mix-and-match promotions for smaller bags in a bid to help customers
reduce the amount they are wasting.
It is also
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, with the aim of better stock control and less
waste.
The
retailer found that 40% of apples were wasted, and just under half of bakery
items.
A quarter
of grapes are wasted between the vine and the fruit bowl and a fifth of all
bananas are unused – with customers throwing one in 10 in the bin.
Tesco said
it was involved in trials with apple growers to reduce pests and disease and
will provide simple tips to customers about storing the fruit after finding
that more than a quarter of wastage happens at home.
It will
also share tips with customers about how to use leftover bread, and is working
with grape and banana suppliers to improve delivery times and conditions.
The
supermarket tracked 25 best-selling products and combined information with data
from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) to give an overall food
waste "footprint" for each item.
The data
shows that in the first six months of this year, 28,500 tonnes of food waste
were generated in Tesco's stores and distribution centres.
The last
figures published by Wrap in 2011 estimated that 15 million tonnes of food
waste was generated each year in the UK.
Tesco
commercial director of group food Matt Simister said: "We've all got a
responsibility to tackle food waste and there is no quick-fix single solution.
Little changes can make a big difference, like storing fruit and vegetables in
the right way.
"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.
"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. We're
working with our suppliers to try to cut waste at all stages of the journey
from farm to fork."
Wrap
director Richard Swannell 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."
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