Food For Thought: The Waste Less Index

The UK appears to have healthy intentions with salad leaves topping the list, but it’s also the most common food item thrown away. As one of the items with the shortest shelf-life in the average fridge, more than a quarter (27%) of us regularly bin wilted leaves. 

Bread ranked as the second most commonly wasted food in our survey. Despite being a staple ingredient in many British households and one of the most versatile cupboard essentials, it is often discarded prematurely, although it can often be kept in the freezer to help extend its usable life, provided storage instructions are followed.

Food items often shopped in large quantities commonly go to waste, including potatoes, which almost a sixth (13%) said they regularly throw away.   

While nearly 1 in 4 said they wouldn’t eat a food that has passed its ‘best before date’, 1 in 6 admit that they don't actually know the difference between sell-by, use-by and best-before dates.

Sell-by dates are used by retailers to inform workers of how long an item should be stocked on shelves to ensure freshness and stock turnover. Food items are usually safe to eat for many days after the sell-by date listed. 

Best-before dates are indicative of how long the product will retain its peak quality and freshness. Foods are generally still edible after this date but may lose optimal taste. Best-before dates indicate quality rather than safety. After this date, food may still be edible but may not be at its best. Check the product has been stored correctly and use sensory cues such as appearance, smell and taste to decide whether to eat it.

Use-by dates are about food safety rather than quality. You should not eat, cook or freeze food after its use-by date, even if it looks and smells fine. These are commonly found on foods that go off quickly, such as meat products, ready-to-eat salads and some chilled dairy products. It’s safe to eat items on the use-by date, but not the day after. To guarantee that the food is safe to eat up to this date, it’s also important to follow the correct storage instructions.

Certain foods might look like they are still fine to eat after their use-by date, but bacteria isn’t always visible and can make you ill, so it is best to follow the advised date.

One of the most commonly listed reasons for food waste is overbuying due to retail promotions or multipacks. 

Some fruit and vegetables are sold in larger pack sizes that can appear better value than buying loose items. In our survey, over two-thirds of UK adults said they often buy these to save money, even where this can mean buying more than they need.

It’s clear Brits are making an effort to reduce food waste and use up what’s left in their fridge, Search data also suggests that many people are looking for ways to use up leftover ingredients, with high monthly UK search volumes for recipe queries linked to commonly wasted foods, including bananas, bread and potatoes.

There are plenty of ways to use up food that is past its best - from using a steam oven to restore moisture to dried-out foods, roasting vegetables or drying out herbs in the oven and softening hard cheese in the microwave. 

There are plenty of ways to make better use of ingredients that are past their peak quality but still safe to eat. From using steam cooking functions to help refresh some dried-out foods, to roasting vegetables, drying herbs in the oven, or gently softening hard cheese in the microwave.

For more cooking inspiration to reduce food waste, visit our recipes hub.