UK Consumers are wasting less food and using more leftovers, especially vegetables, a Sainsbury’s survey has found.
The research of 1,000 shoppers last month found that 62 per cent of households now worry about the food they waste at home following the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) report published in May.
Sainsbury’s has been working with WRAP for several months on the retailer’s Love your Leftovers campaign that went live last week.
The poll found that a fifth of UK households throw away less food as a result of the credit crunch.
Some 43 per cent of shoppers questioned are shopping smarter by sticking to a shopping list to avoid buying unnecessary food, and a further 45 per cent have started cooking from scratch.
These findings suggest the creation of a kitchen culture with a greater reliance on self-prepared meals and the rediscovery of leftovers.
The retailer’s survey showed that 43 per cent of shoppers questioned are shopping smarter by sticking to a shopping list to avoid buying unnecessary food, and a further 45 per cent have started cooking from scratch. Meanwhile, 26 per cent are regularly using leftover vegetables in stir-fries and almost a third of those asked put their left-over vegetables into curries.
Previous sales figures from Sainsbury’s have also shown a significant increase in the use plastic food storage boxes and bags with sales up by 35 per cent and 25 per cent respectively compared to last year.
But the research has found that confusion surrounds “best before” and “use by” dates which contributes to food waste. When asked whether they saw a “use by” date or a “best before” date as a cue to throw away food, 31 per cent and 24 per cent of respondents said “Yes” respectively, meaning that food is being thrown away even though it may be perfectly edible.
To help customers manage their food better, this Saturday, Sainsbury’s launched “Love your Leftovers” in store, which gives customers hints and tips on storage and recipe ideas for fresh produce.
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