People are wasting food

(We have thrown into the trash half of our food: cheap promotions and confusing shelfs that cost families in the UK an extra £ 480 a year for items they never eat. The same situation occurs in other countries around the world.

Up to half of the food we buy from supermarkets is thrown into the trash even though most of them can be eaten, a new report says.

Experts believe that discarded consumer culture has underestimated the food behind the huge waste pile.

Consumers blame the confusion about the expiry date and the 'buy one get one free' promotions that tempted them to buy more goods than needed.

According to a report by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, seven million tons of food, worth more than £ 10 billion, are wasted in the UK each year. That means each household has to spend an additional £ 480 for food they never use.

The report by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers said that as many as three-quarters of the vegetables grown in the UK were never eaten, they were ' rejected' by supermarkets because the design was not good, too. ugly.

The author of the report, Dr. Tim Fox, head of the IME Energy and Environment Agency, said that during an existence, an average household would throw away the same value food. about 24,000 pounds.

Tim Fox said: "About 30 to 50% of supermarket food is thrown into the trash. These foods were originally stored in the kitchen, stored in a refrigerator, then they went to the trash. '

One of the problems leading to this situation is the way that retail supermarkets apply. Consumers have bought products in more quantity than their real needs. Many items have short shelf life, so they will be discarded.

He consumes a variety of fresh fruits imported from all over the world, so these fruits cannot have long shelf life like the ones produced domestically because they have gone on a long journey. . There is also confusion on labels and shelf life, so many people have discarded even good foods.

The average family in the UK only spends 11% of their budget to spend on food, which is why the amount of discarded food has no higher value. Dr. Fox also said that consumers in the UK are losing awareness of the value of food.

"Many farms produce a lot of products, but products do not meet the stringent standards of supermarkets' contracts ," said Dr. Fox.

Agricultural products are distorted, not beautiful, or will be forgotten until rotting, or used to produce products such as soups, animal feed or incubation.

However, once consumers waste is a factor, one-third of green vegetables will never appear on plates during family meals.

Experts also argue that preparing too much food for meals is also one of the reasons for the waste.

Food waste expert, Emma Marsh said: 'Our research has shown that 7.2 million tons of food and beverage waste is generated by households in the UK each year. Of these, 4.4 million tons of food waste can be avoided. This type of waste is worth about £ 12 million ".

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Association, representing retailers, said: "Using crops to cut food waste and increase sustainable production is a goal of all retailers, this means how we can overcome government targets for food waste. '

Opie believes that reducing strict standards for fruits and vegetables will help retailers sell products with worse models.'We will continue to work with farmers to make more use of British products, reduce food waste and create high value customers. That is the process that all three parties have benefited. "