Sainsbury's bosses have hit back after a customer claimed food had been 'wasted' from the store fridges. Neil Brown, 59, was left concerned by staff removing food from the Melton Road store in West Bridgford.
He claimed food had been thrown away in recent days when record temperatures were recorded across the county after forecasters issued the extremely rare 'danger to life' heat warning. Mr Brown claimed food had been removed due to an issue with the fridges and freezers.
He also said he would have liked to have seen the food go to a homeless charity instead. Sainsbury's managers said they were working to fix the problems with the fridges and freezes but denied food had been thrown away or wasted.
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A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s has said: “Our Sainsbury’s West Bridgford Melton Road Local store is experiencing issues with its fridges and freezers. We’re working to fix this as soon as possible and apologising to customers for the inconvenience this may cause.
“We have processes in place to prevent food waste and have been zero waste to landfill since 2013. It would be incorrect to report the food has been thrown away or wasted.”
But retired Mr Brown, who lives in West Bridgford, described what he saw as 'unethical'. He said: “They were gradually unpacking everything, a group of us were pretty shocked. We asked ‘aren’t you going to give it away?’”
Mr Brown added: “I’d like to have seen it go to a local homeless charity, I was pretty shocked. Clearly the stuff was still cold.
"I asked if the circuit breaker [on the fridges] had been checked and I’m unsure if an electrician was called out. They could have discounted the products for a short period of time due to the condition even if it was just for an hour or two. I’m not going back there again, it’s not ethical.” Similar issues have also been affecting the Sainsbury's store in Hockley.
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