Sales up, but is consumption?

Sales of fresh fruit maybe on the rise, but recent research is casting doubts on whether actual consumption is up.

Millions of shoppers are buying their weekly quota of fruit, but then watching it go off in the fruit bowl, a poll has claimed.

A study of 500 families has found more than half of all households throw away unused fruit and vegetables every week.

It suggests that while most people shop with the best of intentions, their resolve to eat healthily fades when they get home.

Around £5.40 a week is spent of fruit and vegetables in the typical home, however, 57 per cent of households admitted to throwing out uncooked and uneaten produce at least once a week. Around 44 per cent said they also threw out salads that are past their best before dates.

Women are more likely than men to throw good food away while older people are less likely to leave any food uneaten.

Ashley Munden, of the disposal firm In-Sink-Erator, which commissioned the poll, said: ''One of the big problems is that most of this food waste is thrown straight in the bin and ends up in landfill, adding to the huge waste mountain building up across Britain.''