Organic News
10% of food discarded
Organic producers will advise consumers to buy less but of a higher quality and the wisdom of this is obvious as new statistics in the UK show that households waste about £3bn a year on fruit and vegetables that go in the bin.
According to the government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) about 4.4m apples are thrown away uneaten every day and more than a tenth of the UK's food shopping is made up of fruit and vegetables that are put in the bin instead of being consumed. WRAP said retailers were beginning to respond to the problem - for instance, Sainsbury's is trying out a project to help shoppers cut down on food waste.
Even worse, families throw away around one third of all the food they buy, according to a study. In total, 6.7million tons of edible food is dumped, 40 per cent of it fruit and vegetables. The amount of money spent on this uneaten food adds up to £3billion a year.
Now Government waste experts are advising shoppers to keep fresh produce in the fridge, rather than the fruit bowl or larder, to extend its life. They surveyed some 2,100 householders, going through their bins to discover exactly what families are throwing out.
Sales of fruit and vegetables have risen in recent years, not least because of the Government's advice to eat five portions a day.
The Government's waste reduction experts on the WRAP body said the waste in terms of carbon generated to grow, transport and cover them in plastic packaging is also huge.
