Tesco has revealed it threw away nearly 30,000 tonnes of food between January and June.
Research showed that nearly 70 per cent of salad bags ended up binned and 40 per cent of apples were wasted.
This was the first time Tesco has published its food waste figures. It is now introducing measures to reduce wastage including developing promotions for smaller bags of salad.
Matt Simister, Tesco's commercial director of group food, 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 veg 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.”
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 showed that in the first six months of this year, 28,500 tonnes of food waste were generated in Tesco's stores and distribution centres.
It also found that a quarter of grapes were wasted between the vine and the fruit bowl, and that a fifth of all bananas were unused - with one in 10 being thrown away by customers.
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.'
The latest figures published by the retailer fit in with recent worrying food wastage research conducted by leading groups.
The last figures published by Wrap in 2011 estimated that 15 million tonnes of food is wasted each year in the UK.
And a report by the Instituition of Mechanical Engineers earlier this year found that up to 50 per cent (or 2 billion tonnes) of the food produced around the world each year never reaches a human stomach.
Dr Tim Fox, head of energy and environment at the Institution, said:“The amount of food wasted and lost around the world is staggering. This is food that could be used to feed the world’s growing population – as well as those in hunger today.
'It is also an unnecessary waste of the land, water and energy resources that were used in the production, processing and distribution of this food.'
