As the cost of living crisis continues bite, reducing the amount of food your household wastes will be something many Britons are keen to tackle.
Research from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) found that the average household throws away 1.96kg of food every day – which can add up to eight whole meals per week.
The research also found that three out of four people currently view the cost of food as a major concern.
With this in mind, here are some expert tips to help you tackle food waste.
Separate foods
Shopping expert Richard Price explained that separating foods that produce more ethylene gas from those that don’t is a great way to reduce foods going off quickly.
Ripening fruits, such as bananas, pears, tomatoes and peaches are among foods that produce lots of ethylene, so these should be stored away from other foods.
Mr Price, Director of online supermarket Britsuperstore, said: ‘Ethylene promotes ripening in foods and could lead to rotten food’.
Make a shopping list
Another tip is to make a shopping list every time you go food shopping.
Mr Price recommends adding items you run out of to the list during the week and religiously sticking to it when you go shopping.
He explained: ‘Always aim to plan ahead and shop with specific meals in mind.
‘This discourages buying items you don’t need, by doing this you can save over £10 a week on your foodshop.’
Keep vegetables in water
Putting the stems of vegetables such as broccoli, celery and asparagus in water can help them to stay fresher and crisper for longer.
Richard said that if you change the water regularly ‘your veg could last up to five days’.
Freeze vegetables
Most fruits and vegetables can be frozen, and this is a great way to stop them from going to waste.
Mr Price said: ‘Some fruit and vegetables will lose their texture when frozen – you can deal with this by freezing them pureed or stewed.’
You could even buy your veg already frozen so you don’t have to worry about it.
Measure your meal portions
It is advised that you reduce waste by cooking only the exact amount of food you need.
Mr Price said: ‘Measuring takes away the guesswork and makes it more likely you’ll get the right amount.’
Understand the difference between food labels
Understanding the difference between ‘best before’ and ‘use-by’ dates is a good way to stop yourself from unnecessarily throwing foods away.
Food is often still safe to consume after the ‘best before’ date – it just might be a little less tasty – whereas the ‘use-by’ date tells you when food is no longer safe to eat.
Mr Price explains: ‘Food that has passed its best before can still be safe to consume, but the flavour and texture may change over time.
‘A great way to see if your food is still safe to eat is the “sniff test” and then to use your common sense. Food that has passed its use-by date is not safe to eat.’
More Trending
Keep a log of spoiled foods
We recommend writing down the foods that you end up throwing away each week in order to help you to identify the foods you can cut back on.
Mr Price said: ‘If you know week after week the same foods are being thrown away you know to cutback and money can be spent elsewhere’.
Deals of the Day
Save £300 on the 'Ferrari of lawn mowers' that gardeners are calling 'unbelievable'
Make the most of your garden this Easter with Dunelm's outdoor furniture and 'perfect' set
Transform your makeup routine with this £39 product that's a 'game-changer for glowy skin'
These luxe socks are the Father’s Day present he’ll actually want – and they're under £20
'Hair looks so healthy and much stronger' praise shoppers after using £9 hair mask
He added: ‘While you might think food waste doesn’t affect you, tossing edible food doesn’t just waste money, it’s sent to landfills and therefore is also bad for the environment.’
MORE: How much should my pay rise to beat inflation amid cost of living crisis?
MORE: Cost of living: 6 ways to get free food from supermarkets
Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Share your views in the comments below
