Fourteen million shopping baskets worth of food could be prevented from going to waste every year if UK retailers changed how uncut fresh fruit and vegetables are sold, a new report has found.
Selling such produce free from plastic packaging and without best before dates enables shoppers to buy the right amount for their needs and use judgment to decide when items are still good to eat, waste reduction charity Wrap said.
It has recommended that major retailers "rethink" how they sell uncut fresh produce, specifically by removing packaging and date labels unless it is shown that they reduce overall food waste.
Wrap's recommendations follow an 18-month study into five commonly wasted items – apples, bananas, broccoli, cucumber and potatoes – stored with and without packaging at different temperatures.
The charity found that selling the items loose and removing best before dates could result in a combined yearly saving of around 100,000 tonnes of household food waste, more than 10,300 tonnes of plastic and 130,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
While most supermarkets already sell some items loose, the research presents compelling evidence for significantly increasing the practice across a wide range of fresh fruit and vegetables.
The study also shows how uncut fresh produce could be good to eat long after the best before date, with most items lasting longer in the fridge.
When stored at 4C, apples showed no signs of deterioration until two and a half months after their best before date and were still good to eat for some time after that, researchers found. Broccoli showed no signs of deterioration until more than two weeks after the best before date.
Wrap is recommending that retailers help shoppers understand the importance of refrigerating appropriate fresh produce below 5C at home.
It has shared its findings and recommendations with the UK's largest food retailers but acknowledges that implementing them will "likely take time".
The charity's chief executive, Marcus Gover, said: "This important research could be a game-changer in the fight against food waste and plastic pollution. We have demystified the relationship between wasted food, plastic packaging, date labels and food storage.
"While packaging is important and often carries out a critical role to protect food, we have proven that plastic packaging doesn't necessarily prolong the life of uncut fresh produce. It can in fact increase food waste in this case. We have shown the massive potential to save good food from being thrown away by removing date labels.
"We are all living with the reality of the climate emergency and the rising cost of living. This new clarity could not be more timely. We need retailers to step up and follow our recommendations so we can achieve real progress in tackling food waste and plastic pollution. This helps save the planet and us money at the same time - a real win-win."
Food Standards Agency chair Susan Jebb said businesses must make sure the right date label is applied to their products – and only when required – to help consumers make informed choices and reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses.
"A Best Before date is about quality which means the food will be safe to eat after this date, even if it may not be at its best", she said.
"Business should display Use By dates for food like meat products and ready to eat salads which could be unsafe if left for too long.
"Date labels are important – not only for cutting down on food waste – but for keeping us safe too."
Wrap also published an updated list of key plastic items for UK Plastics Pact members to remove as far as possible by the end of 2022 alongside the fresh produce packaging, including plastic wrapping for multi-sales of tins, bottles, and cartons, PVC cling film, non-compostable fruit and veg stickers, non-compostable tea and coffee bags and single-serving plastic sachets in restaurants.
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