Warwick House, Unit 7, Long Bennington Business Park, Main Road, Long Bennington, Newark, Notts, NG23 5JR
+ 44 (0) 1400 283090 generaladmin@bfff.co.uk
Warwick House, Unit 7, Long Bennington Business Park, Main Road, Long Bennington, Newark, Notts, NG23 5JR
+ 44 (0) 1400 283090 generaladmin@bfff.co.uk
The humble spud is the country’s Number One most wasted food item. Every DAY in UK homes we throw away 2.9 million whole potatoes – a whopping 510,000 tonnes of tubers in total a year.
Most potato waste comes from not using the skin/ peel, which is edible so classed as wasted food. If you have mash in mind, think frozen and instead of buying a bulky bag of taters, why not plump for no-need-to-peel frozen mashed potato? You can even get cheesy and garlicky versions of this classic accompaniment. Oh, and the same principle applies to roasties.
Meals make up the greatest proportion of food waste from our homes in terms of cost – we bin £3.2 billion of meals a year. Most meal waste comes from making too much.
So, why not make space in your meal plan for a perfectly-portioned favourite from the freezer? The nation’s most popular platefuls (e.g., lasagne, chilli con carne) are well catered for by frozen in sizes to suit – whether you’re eating solo or feeding the whole family. Try tasty trends (e.g., Katsu chicken, pulled pork mac ‘n’ cheese) or pick plant-based options (e.g., vegan Korean noodles) and take the night off!
Meat and fish make up the greatest proportion of food waste from our homes in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (26%).
Most of the UK’s edible meat and fish waste is poultry and most is wasted because we don’t use it in time. 3,600 tonnes of edible poultry waste is skin/ fat. Swapping fresh chicken for frozen gives you more time to use it. AND you can use what you need when you need it. AND the skin has been removed. AND you can cook it from frozen. There are loads of premium and breaded/ coated options from luxury parmos to classic Kievs where the hard work has been done for you. Clucking brilliant.
Most of us buy frozen peas, yet we don’t always apply the same logic to other popular veggies and insist on fresh produce – only to waste 120,000 tonnes of mixed vegetables a year.
The frozen food aisle offers a vast variety of veg. from country and casserole to stir fry and Mediterranean-style mixes, providing nutritious like-for-like equivalents without the limited storage life. Or the prep. Didn’t someone once say life is too short to stuff a mushroom? Well, life is definitely too short to peel and chop a butternut squash, so why not buy it frozen instead?
‘Who wastes cake?’ I hear you ask. Well, UK households binned 100,000 tonnes of cake and desserts in 2021/22, of which all were edible – and it cost us £270 million.
We waste these sweet treats mainly because we don’t use them in time, so it make sense to choose cheesecake or chocolate eclairs, jam roly-poly or profiteroles that stay fresh in the freezer. Go for mini or multi options e.g., slices, bars, and bites to avoid waste from defrosting a dessert that’s too big.
Pork is the second most wasted meat in the UK. 58% of pork waste is linked to processed pork products and the one we waste the most of is sausages – 25,000 tonnes a year costing £160 million.
Yet you can get big brand sausages, frozen. You can get sausages in batter, frozen. You can get meat-free, skinless, square, and spicy sausages, frozen. So there’s no reason to bin bangers. Stop it, now!
Fresh vegetables and salad make up the greatest proportion of food waste from our homes in terms of weight (26%). Lettuce and leafy salad, including spinach is the third most wasted veg/salad item behind potatoes and mixed veg.
‘How can frozen food help to reduce fresh vegetables and salad waste?’ I hear you cry. Well, this is another example of thinking frozen ahead. If you plan to use spinach in your cooking, then frozen makes sense. Those little green nuggets of goodness are super-convenient, last longer, costs less, and free-up fridge space. Remember – frozen spinach should always be cooked and never eaten raw.
It’s another swap at number 8. We waste 93,000 tonnes of onion a year, but only around one-third is edible.
The main reason for wasting onion that could have been eaten is ‘not used in time’, which is enough to make anyone cry over this humble veg. Frozen, diced onions are a great example of the frozen food industry coming to our rescue and the perfect swaption – storing better (no sprouting) and lasting longer. No chopping, no crying, no problem. See also frozen chillies, ginger, and garlic.
For a nation that loves its strawberries and other soft/ berry fruits, such as blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, we waste an awful lot of them – 54,000 tonnes.
This is also a berry expensive habit at £400 million a year – more than any other fresh fruit item in terms of the cost of waste. Most fresh fruit is flung because it went rotten or mouldy. Frozen berries in single varieties or frozen fruit mixes are perfect for smoothies and desserts and last for ages. If you’re buying fresh fruit for smoothies only to watch it compost in the fridge, then smoothie mixes could be just what you need in your life.
Compared to the amount of standard bread we waste (the equivalent of 25 million slices or 1.3 million loaves a day) at 34,000 tonnes, morning goods waste doesn’t look too bad.
It is, of course, and chucking croissants and pitching pastries costs us £210 million a year. Nestled in the freezer, ready to use when you are, bake-from-frozen buttery croissants, pains au chocolat, and other breakfast treats are the next best thing to living next door to a Parisian patisserie, honest.
Warwick House, Unit 7, Long Bennington Business Park, Main Road, Long Bennington, Newark, Notts, NG23 5JR
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