According to the Food Standard’s Agency a major reason for discarding food is because it was past its use by date. Other top reasons for throwing food away include buying too much and not eating it and not having the chance to eat food before it went off.
This contributes to the seven million tonnes of food that is wasted in the UK each year which, according to the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, costs each household around £470 annually.
The council is backing the FSA’s campaign to encourage borough residents to help tackle the problem of food waste by planning ahead and, if necessary, freezing food within its use by date if there is a chance it may be thrown away once the use-by date expires.
The council’s Cabinet member for Regulatory Services and the Environment Cllr Hayley Eachus said: “Lots of people believe food can only be frozen on the day of purchase, but the freezer is like a pause button and you can safely freeze most foods for three to six months. You can even cook defrosted meat into a new meal and freeze it to eat on another day. With so much food being thrown away, we want borough residents to think about how they can use their freezers to their full potential, rather than putting food in the bin.”
For more information on freezing food safely, visit www.food.gov.uk/useby or follow @foodgov #EatitCookitFreezeit on Twitter for tips and advice throughout Food Safety Week.
