Food Waste

How to reduce food waste

The developed world wastes three times the amount of food needed to feed the planet’s hungriest people. From our farms to our supermarkets, tonnes of perfectly edible food ends up in landfill. Statistics from 2018 suggest that the average UK household throws away 6.6 million tonnes of food waste every year, 4.5 million of which is edible. Every household throws away the equivalent of £500 worth of food a year.

Not only is this a waste of good food, it’s also a waste of the resources that were used to produce it – from the water, heat and food used in the growing process to the energy consumed during its transportation. When you consider that in the UK we waste the meat from 120 million chickens per year, the story becomes even more shocking.

Minimising food waste is vital to maintaining a responsible and sustainable food system. Reducing waste allows for better distribution of nutritious food to those that need it and eases the enormous strain on the planet’s resources. We’re taking steps to do this by educating people on the value of food, where it comes from and the amount of resources needed to produce it. There’s so much that can be done to make things better and it’s a job not only for the food industry; everyone can play a part.

THE 10 MOST WASTED FOODS IN UK HOUSEHOLDS

Potatoes (fresh)
Bread
Milk
Leftover meals (homemade & ready meals)
Fizzy drinks
Fruit juice and smoothies
Pork (ham, bacon)
Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck)
Carrots (fresh)
Potato (processed)

EVERY DAY UK HOUSEHOLDS THROW AWAY APPROXIMATELY:

20 million slices of bread
4.4 million potatoes
0.9 million bananas
1.2 million tomatoes
0.7 million oranges
0.8 million apples
2.7 million carrots
1.0 million onions
86,000 lettuces
3.1 million glasses worth of milk

HOW CAN WE REDUCE FOOD WASTE?

1

MAKE A PLAN AND WRITE A SHOPPING LIST

Plan your meals for the week and check your fridge, freezer and cupboards before you go shopping so you know exactly what you need and less likely to over-shop. Write everything down in a list so you’re more likely to stick to it.
2

BEST-BEFORE AND USE-BY DATES

Understand the difference between best-before dates and use-by dates so you’re not throwing away edible food. Click here for more info.
3

EMBRACE WONKY FRUIT & VEGETABLES

They have just as many nutrients and are just as tasty as perfectly shaped produce. Check out more tips here.
4

OPEN YOUR MIND

Be more open-minded about the food you buy and how you use it – try more unusual cuts of meat or buy sustainable whole fish and use the leftover bones and heads to make a delicious stock.
5

LOOK OUT FOR MIXED-WEIGHT EGGS

Hens naturally lay smaller eggs when they are younger, and larger eggs as they get older. Consumer demand for large eggs means that small and medium eggs are often wasted. Look out for mixed-weight boxes containing a variety of sizes.
6

CHECK YOUR FRIDGE AND FREEZER

Make sure your fridge and freezer are set to the right temperature. This will help food keep for longer.
7

PORTION OUT FOOD

Weigh out foods such as rice, pasta and vegetables so you don’t end up cooking too much and throwing it away.
8

EMBRACE YOUR LEFTOVERS

Portion out leftovers into reusable freezer bags or containers, label and date them, then pop them in the freezer ready for a quick meal on another day
9

SAVE WITH JAMIE

Check out our Save With Jamie page for more ideas on how to shop smart, cook clever and waste less.

As a business, we’re also evaluating how we can further minimise food waste across our restaurants, shops and products. We already have several measures in place with our suppliers, such as feeding our pigs on a diet of 90% recycled food and using higher-welfare eggs that aren’t large enough to pass supermarket stipulations. Within our restaurant kitchens, we’re mindful of not cooking more than we can sell and using up leftover ingredients wherever possible. The reduction of food waste is a journey we are on ourselves and like most things in life, we believe prevention is better than cure.

REDUCING FOOD WASTE IS A CHALLENGE FOR EVERYONE, SO PLEASE JOIN US!