industry focus
Call to tackle food waste
Over thirty supermarkets and food producers have called on the government to introduce compulsory reporting of food waste.
Retailers and brands, including Tesco – which recently unveiled a facility that turns food surplus into animal feed - Aldi, Nestlé and Princes have signed a letter to environment secretary Steve Reed as a first step towards cutting waste.
They insist that forcing businesses to confront the reality of their food waste will lead to better behaviour, including increased efforts to reuse surplus food and more efficient processes.
The move comes as the government aims to halve food waste by 2030 but has not yet introduced measures to meet this goal.
The letter was organised by Too Good to Go co-founder Jamie Crummie and the British Retail Consortium.
The food waste app co-founder said: “Food waste is one of the largest contributors to climate change. In the UK alone, we throw away 10.7 million tonnes of food annually."
“We are delighted to see the environment secretary set out the creation of a zero-waste economy as a priority. In line with this ambition, and with the support of more than thirty businesses from across the food sector, we hope to see swift implementation of mandatory food waste reporting to ensure transparency and accountability when it comes to our food.”
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs added: “The amount of food we waste is a stain on our country. We are working with business to drive down food waste and make sure food is put on the plates of those in greatest need."
“This includes supporting surplus food to be redistributed to charities and others that can use it and on programmes to help citizens reduce their food waste.”
