Home > Climate & Health > Reducing Food Waste

Reducing Food Waste

Reducing the amount of food we waste is a great to help the environment - and it has a great affect on our incomes too!

The FoodSavvy website is the place to visit for hints, tips and tricks on ways to reduce food waste - from ways to use leftovers to the best way to freeze food.

Best-before dates

Many supermarkets are starting to remove best-before dates from their packaging. According to the Food Standards Agency, best-before dates relate to food quality rather than safety. A key test for whether food with best-before dates are safe to eat is to use sensory cues such as looking for mould on bread, taste for stale biscuits/crisps or sniff/smell for some dairy products.

The use-by date on food produce is important as this is an indicator for food safety. Food past this date is unsafe to eat.

Bread

Food Waste Apps

There are a great number of apps that you can download for free to help reduce local food waste. Some offer the ability to purchase individual food items at a cut price, or purchase 'mystery bags'. Some of these apps even include ways of borrowing or buying cheaply other household items!

Too Good to Go - this app allows you to browse local food sources for 'mystery bags' at a cut price. A wide range of food retailers such as Greggs, Morrisons, Co-op and Costa are a part of this scheme offering food at a fraction of the cost - the app even tells you how much you are saving! Google Play Store/Apple App Store

Olio - this handy app not only connects with local businesses but you and your neighbours can upload spare produce (as well household objects).  It's perfect for those times when you are going away and want to donate your food. Google Play Store/Apple App Store

NoWaste - it's not always easy to remember when the use-by date of the yoghurt at the back of the fridge, or what meals have been put in the freezer. The NoWaste app can keep track of all of these. With its simple to use barcode reader and food organiser, the app tracks what food you have in store, where it is, and notifies you when items are about the expire. Google Play Store/Apple App Store

Free apps food