In the UK, approximately 8 million tonnes of food is wasted post-manufacture, including households, retail and wholesale and hospitality/food sector, which can also include packaging. Around 60% of this could have been avoided, according to EFRA, and this has an annual value of approximately £16 billion a year.
The Committee will ask how far voluntary initiatives can further reduce food waste or if legislation is required in this area, and will focus on areas such as the economic, environmental and social impact of food waste, the effective measures in reducing food waste by retailers, the hospitality sector, local government, and consumers.
It also said 85% of food waste post-manufacture comes from homes, with the average family spending £700 a year on food that is wasted.
At retail level, recent data suggests that 0.2 million tonnes of edible food and drink goes to waste annually, costing the industry £0.65 billion.
Neil Parish, chair of the EFRA committee, said: “Despite the progress made reducing food waste along the supply chain, the amount of reusable, recyclable food that we throw away in the UK is still staggeringly high. Of the estimated 7 million tonnes we discard from our homes each year, nearly half is edible. Not only does this have an impact on the family purse, but the environmental cost is equally heavy. We will be asking what more can be done to reduce food waste and this needless expense to our households.”
Martin Kersh, the Foodservice Packaging Association’s executive director, said the inquiry makes a reference to packaging and to the hospitality sector.
“The FPA strongly supports this Inquiry and indeed all developments that put the spotlight on food waste reduction,” he said. “The Hospitality and Foodservice Agreement that has now been subsumed into the Courtauld 2025 Agreement has made major strides in reducing food waste in the hospitality sector. The Inquiry mentions labelling and a further review of use by date information is welcomed. We see new developments intelligent labelling having a big part to play. This is an excellent opportunity to get the message across that packaging is a major driver in reducing food waste.”
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