According to WRAP , UK households create 6.4 million tonnes of food waste a year. Of that 6.4 million tonnes, 4.7 million tonnes is good food that could have been eaten.

We waste food because we don’t use it in time (1.8 million tonnes); we cook, prepare, or serve too much (1.2 million tonnes); or due to personal preference (1.1 million tonnes).
Wasting food (the good stuff that could have been eaten) costs us £17 billion a year or the average four-person household £1,000 a year or £80 a month.

The food groups we waste the most of include fresh vegetables and salad (27%), meals (12%), and bakery (11%). Our Number One most wasted food item is the potato – we waste 2.9 million A DAY.

And wasting food isn’t just bad for our pockets, it’s bad for the planet too – the carbon associated with the food we waste is equivalent to that generated by one in five cars on UK roads.

How does frozen food help to fight food waste?

Almost 40% of our food goes to waste because we don’t use it in time. Replacing a fresh ingredient or product with a short storage life for a like-for-like frozen equivalent with a longer life could help to reduce this.

Over 20% of our food ends up in the bin because of our preferences (or thinking it’s inedible) much of which relates to not eating the parts that are classed as food e.g., potato peel/ skin. Removing the need to peel ingredients or prepare products at home could help to reduce this.
We waste a quarter of our food because we prepare, cook, or serve too much (and don’t use up what’s left). Products such as pre-prepared frozen meals that help us to get our portions right could help to reduce this.

Many of us face difficulties in co-ordinating our busy lives with food-related activities and evidence suggests a link between food waste and a (lack of) time for behaviours that help to reduce it . Innovative, convenient, frozen food products could help us to manage our food better.

Think frozen, fight food waste.

By Helen White, Associate Director Tetra Tech