I saw this link/video on the BBC asking if celebrity chefs create more food waste by urging people to "buy fresh". I duly tweeted it and Chris Talbot of Ace (Twitter.com/acechef) responded with:-
"Think everyone is guilty of this, most households too. If sell-by and use-by dates were removed, would this reduce waste?"
I think it would, in fact I'm sure it would in my own household. But would the supermarkets be allowed to make such moves?
Your thoughts?
I like to buy fresh too, but it does mean many more trips to the shops than I would like. On the occasions that I try and plan a week's worth of menus and shop accordingly i find unforeseen circumstances throw me out of whack within a couple of days and I end up with food to throw away.
I don't think the supermarkets would like to trust consumers to know whether food is suitable to eat because a) it opens themselves up to litigation, and b) it would probably hamper repeat business.
But something needs to be done, I agree.
Yes, I agree with you, it does impact on the number of times you hit the shops so you're definitely burning up more petrol as a result. And I'm sure you've hit the nail on the head re litigation, I wonder if supermarkets could be persuaded to review their sell-by dates - they're always so conservative.
i come across many places that throw food away because of dates
but then why are they buying so much in the first place?
Domestically, the Mrs CJ and I plan our menu at home for each week based on what we have in the freezer against a balanced and varied diet and then purchase what we and our family need.
If an unexpected event comes up, we review dates and foods in stock and use up those that are expiring shortly in preference to those with a longer date, which does sometimes mean a menu swap
I cooked for a youth camp over the summer- 6 days, 140 people per meal 3 meals per day. Total wastage?? 3kg of mashed potato too much and 1 head of celery that lost an argument with a box of jacket potatoes!
We need to plan and also buy carefully so we don't hold too much in stock
Buying fresh is fine, but only buy what you need!
Calvin Hanks
www.cjgroup.co.uk
It's not good to waste food. Organizers want people to sign a pledge promising to reduce their food waste and are asking firms to do the same.
Lately I go to the supermarket and plan the menu for the day and maybe the day after, after seeing what's on sales. By "sales" I don't mean the usual discounts, but the items that are either expiring on the day or the day after and now have an orange price tag/sticker on them.
I used to try and plan the menu for the working week, but as the previous poster said, sometimes there are unforseen circumnstances (meeting friends, sudden work commitment) and you end up throwing away food.
I only look at the use by date for items higly perishable (sea food, meat). For items like veg, bread ect the better before/use by date seems to be just a formality as the item is either off or is not, it's very easy to tell and often lasts way longer than indicated.