Tesco to fight food wastage - really?

I suspect that the 'every family wastes £700 of food a year' is really: If we average food waste from all sources, homes, supermarkets, hospitals etc it is the equivalent of every family wasting £700 a year.

Supermarket's like Tesco are majorly at fault here. They sell so much in large packs or multi packs. In France you can, for example, buy milk by the pack or break the pack open, take just one carton out and just buy that, other people wanting single packets will take the others.

I do not like chilled drinks , I prefer them at room temperature and if I am grabbing a supermarket sandwich lunch I find that chilled water is all that is available in individual small bottles because if I go to the drinks section, all the small bottles are in packs, which in the UK you cannot break open and take just one.

Yes, Ana that was mean. When I worked with homeless people in the late 80s and 90s, M and S, Tesco and BHS city centre stores would save all their unsold sandwiches, cakes, drinks and ready-prepared food for us to give to homeless people. We would make packs of food up for them to take with them. Then some bright spark decided that this was contravening health and safety (I thought it was the homelessness that posed more of a risk!)

Why throw away good food? We always found it to be fresh and appetising, and very much appreciated by people who would otherwise have to scavenge and beg for food.

And what about the food that all supermarkets throw away because it's past its sell-by or use before date and can't be sold? They don't even give it to the homeless any more for fear of being sued if someone gets food poisoning...

I do shop at supermarkets usually Asda but I waste very little food of any sort. The odd gone off veg at the bottom of the fridge. I wonder if that £700 is an accurate figure and how it is calculated.

I do blame the sell by/use by date business though. I think it leaves a lot of people unable to make sensible decisions about food safety. Perhaps they have been too used to cheap food for too long and have never learnt how to plan meals and use left overs. I wonder how Tesco's plan to tackle this. What about the good food the supermarkets reject on shape and size before it reaches the shelves. I am sure they could market that if if they tried!

I really really hate food waste!

Yes, I've got some pears I bought a week ago - still not ready!

As Eddie Izzard says about pears 'you check them - not ready, not ready, not ready, not ready, not ready - mush!'

And they're not always 'ripe and ready to eat', either...

How about them selling fruit that's actually ready to eat? I can never find and ripe bananas at Tesco. They are either green, or over-ripe and bruised. They have no idea how to store and display these correctly and must have to throw a large percentage out. Likewise fruit like rock-hard plums and 'Eddie Izzard' pears. There are a few labelled 'Ripe and Ready to Eat' but these are expensive.

I've noticed that Aldi don't put dates on their fresh fruit and veg; in other words, they assume their customers can work that out for themselves. I wonder how much perfectly good fruit and veg is thrown out by people who shop at Tesco and don't realise that actually yes you can use old carrots! Perhaps Tesco should start by taking stickers off all fruit and veg.

You're right, Flickety. Many of our generation would never dream of lettng food be wasted, and Tesco shoud bear some responsibility for the wastage arising from people adhering to 'use by' and 'best by' dates on their packaging.

I do get hopping mad with broad generalisations like 'every family wastes £700 a year on food'. Well, people on benefits clearly don't, particularly the lady who runs the blog on feeding herself and her son on £10 a week, nor do most older people. I certainly don't.

There may well be people who do waste food to this extent, but certainly not every family.

I don't shop in Tesco either due to the rudeness and couldn't care less attitude of staff and misleading price tickets I could go on .

I agree gracesmum re shopping locally. I often shop at our local market for fruit and vegetables and I buy my meat from a butchers in town much better quality and service and you can have as much or as little as you require.

I think it sounds alright. I hate BOGOFS, especially as they are often on the unhealthy stuff.

Won't be going in Tesco though.

I'll believe it when I see it. Except that I won't see it because I refuse to shop in Tesco.

About time Tesco had to think about their pricing policy. I don't want BOGOFs, brand price comparisons with other supermarkets, loyalty cards or any other gimmick. I just want reasonably priced food and household goods. That's why Aldi and Lidl are doing so well.