Surplus food waste.

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Surplus food waste.
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Did you know Supermarkets throw away an estimated 400,000 Tons Of Food that could be reclaimed a year?

Yes

82%

[ 23 ]

17%

[ 5 ]

Total Votes : 28

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nancyrowina

Joined: 16 Jun 2012
Posts: 20
Location: IOW

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 12:43 pm Post subject: Surplus food waste.

Since the credit crunch has took hold lots of people including myself have had to use food banks and places that offer free cooked meals. There's a really good place local to me that gives food from their food bank every week without any vouchers or referrals, and the food they cook is made from ingredients donated by local business's and farmers markets. I've started to try and help out and have discovered that big super markets don't hand over any of the surplus food they would throw away even though it is still edible, only small local business's donate.

This makes me mad since I see a lot of people who are poor and have trouble eating in these tough economic times and know the problem is big and going to get bigger. It's sickening that big supermarkets are literally throwing away food when people are starving.

I've written a blog post about it The Great Food Waste Scandal With links to some actions you can take and organizations trying to combat this food waste if this infuriates you as much as it does us.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 1:07 pm Post subject:

Trouble is if it is past the best before date they feel they risk being sued if anything should go wrong and if its not then more people will use The food bank and eat for free rather than spend money in their tills.
As a chef I am acutely aware of The penalties that can be imposed personally on me if anything goes wrong, not the company I work for but me and sometimes its not worth the risk.
That said at work I cant bring myself to throw away left overs and offer them to my staff and others working there.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 1:48 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

I can understand that - I try to sell everything but if I don't & start giving it away then people will start holding out until it becomes free. If I give it away there is no advantage in doing so over & above giving it to either the dog or the guinea pigs (depending upon whether meat or vegetable). When it comes to meat there is an intrinsic cost in giving it away for human consumption, whereas feeding the dog with it really is free. Also, the more I give away means the more I have to charge everyone and so the gap between the food being affordable becomes even larger. I felt much more confident giving away fresh, fit for sale food for charity than I would have done stuff that was past it's date.

paul1963

Joined: 15 Nov 2010
Posts: 2161
Location: No longer active on the forum

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 2:14 pm Post subject:
It's a shocking statistic, I did some research on this very thing at the university. It's a dreadful waste.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 2:21 pm Post subject:

paul1963 wrote:

It's a shocking statistic, I did some research on this very thing at the university. It's a dreadful waste.

Is the statistic only shocking because supermarkets are so central & powerful though? Really it is a mismatching of supply for demand and are lots of little shops better at selling out than supermarkets are? Just throwing some questions about here, I have no idea one way or the other. Would it be better if the supermarkets undersold more and had less stock?

nancyrowina

Joined: 16 Jun 2012
Posts: 20
Location: IOW

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 4:48 pm Post subject:

But that's the thing a lot of this food isn't even past it's date, they throw lots of things out that are on the day before their date. I wouldn't trust meat and dairy but most vegetables thrown away are still fit to eat they just no longer qualify as fresh, and tinned and dried food in packets lasts for years.
I did hear that supermarkets used to donate surplus food but someone ate the food through a homeless shelter and claimed it made them ill and sued. That is the reason they don't anymore, I don't know if it's true but it wouldn't surprise me in this compensation culture.
I've heard that kitchen staff are no longer allowed to eat the leftovers after something similar happened in a hotel kitchen, it really is ridiculous.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 5:01 pm Post subject:

But It is what happens when everyone sues, people do things out of kindness and then get sued for millions and have to pay out, once it happens once no one else is willing to risk it.
Everyone who eats leftovers in my kitchen does so at their own risk but none of us are that worried as I cook fresh everyday and am meticulous in temp control and so on but if anyone else was preparing the food I had given them I would be worried.

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 5:04 pm Post subject:

when buying "short dated" food, remember the the grades of safety:
1) don't sell anything that is dangerous,
2) build in some contingency, just in case,
3) put in place extra precautions to make sure that no-one can sue you.

basically, if food (we're including raw chicken in this) has not been correctly stored, by the "use by" date, its still OK (e.g. the journey from refrigerated lorry to cold store might take a while).

If he gets sued, the vendor can point to written processes and procedures, which all staff must adhere to, that ensures that the food is 100% safe, right up to the "use by" date.

Consequently, the careful purchaser has a bit of leeway, (but must proceed with caution).

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 5:41 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

And anyway sucessfully suing someone in this manner is very rare in this country - people might try, and the attempt might make the headlines, but "judge throws stupid case out of court" doesn't make such a dramatic headline and doesn't get reported.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 5:54 pm Post subject:
True but I don't want to be the,test case with a £10,000 fine and imprisonment the outcome if I lose thank you very much.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 6:12 pm Post subject:
Can you be imprisoned if someone sues you?

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 6:25 pm Post subject:
If I cause harm through negligence then they won't need to sue, I will be prosecuted under the food safety act and that can lead to imprisonment I believe. That's why HACCP is so important to use as a due diligence defence.

DawnMK

Joined: 01 Dec 2008
Posts: 895
Location: Buckinghamshire

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 6:25 pm Post subject:

I cant understand why familys have to go to food banks, and can be that poor that they cant afford to eat, I have seen them on TV and dont understand it at all, any family working even for the minimum wage would get family tax credits, none working familys are on income support, or job seekers etc so how can they not have money for food, even homless people get benifits, so is it they choose to spend there money else were and then go for hand outs can some one explain to me please

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 6:37 pm Post subject:
Benefits can take time to come through. Filling in the forms is not an easy process for everyone. As you might have read from some people on here's posts, employers don't always pay on time. All the bills come at once - loads of potential reasons.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 12 6:40 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

If I cause harm through negligence then they won't need to sue, I will be prosecuted under the food safety act and that can lead to imprisonment I believe.
That's why HACCP is so important to use as a due diligence defence.

That is obviously the case, it was the "doing things out of kindness and then getting sued for millions" bit that I was taking issue with.

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