New research reveals that UK households are throwing away £4.3 billion worth of uneaten food every year.
The refrigeration company Liebherr commissioned the research, which found that 56% of Brits feel they don’t have the information needed to reduce waste. Almost 70% of those surveyed believe it is the responsibility of the national Government and/or local councils to educate the British public on food storage and waste prevention.
The research shows that in the UK 20% of households are wasting on average 40 items of food per month. The top reasons cited for throwing food away were buying too much food (33%), closely followed by not storing food correctly (31%).
The top three most wasted items in the UK are bagged salad (31%), bread (29%) and fresh vegetables (29%).
Our mission is to continue developing products and technologies that genuinely help our customers to live more sustainable lives.
As we approach the festive season, the problem increases as almost one-third (30%) admit to wasting more or significantly more food at Christmas, compared to the rest of the year, despite 45% saying they’re likely to spend over £100 on their festive food shop.
Commenting on the research, UK Senior Marketing Manager at Liebherr, Hugo Prado, said: “At Liebherr, our mission is to continue developing products and technologies that genuinely help our customers to live more sustainable lives.
“As we look to the future, we will continue investing in research and development that aims to increase energy efficiency, reduce food waste and ultimately contribute to a circular economy; and products such as BioFresh are a big part of this.”
