UFOs and freezer disasters contribute to UK household food waste – Gregg Wallace shows how Bedford News

As UK households waste the equivalent of eight meals a week on average (87,000 tonnes of food waste across all households in seven days), TV presenter Gregg Wallace joins Food Waste Action Week to help households control food waste and spread the message. Food waste fuels climate change.

To kick off the week, Love Food Hate Waste will unveil a shocking new installation showing the scale of UK household food waste from a single household over a year in the form of a 10ft food waste planet.

Freezers in the UK contain UFOs (unidentified frozen objects) with more than a third of people admitting that their freezers are sometimes a total disaster and that it is extremely difficult to determine the contents, a new survey reveals. 19% of people have thrown away something frozen in the past two weeks because it has been sitting idle for too long.

Food Waste Action Week is going global with weeks taking place simultaneously in Canada, the United States, South Africa, Australia and Mauritius.

The second annual Week of Action Against Food Waste begins today, Monday March 7, with TV presenter Gregg Wallace taking the reins to raise awareness about the huge impact of household food waste on climate change and share practical tips, wise eating behaviors and tips on how we can all easily reduce the food we waste in our homes.

Particular attention is paid to UFOs that get stuck in our freezer and never end up on our plates.

With only around one in three people in the UK seeing a clear link between food waste and climate change, Gregg worked with Love Food Hate Waste – the brand behind the action week – to create an installation powerful using food waste to show the extent of the problem.

The installation brings the campaign’s impactful creations to life to convey the fact that the food wasted in our own homes is directly fueling climate change. The campaign will run in the UK and globally on social media.

Gregg Wallace, TV presenter, said: ‘No one hates seeing good food go to waste more than I do, and often it’s simple changes to the way we store food that makes the biggest difference.

“That’s why I’m thrilled to support this year’s Food Waste Action Week and Love Food Hate Waste.”

Gregg added: “The fact is that we are all responsible for the vast majority of food waste that happens in the UK – 70% – so we really need to be part of the solution for the good of the planet.

And with rising food prices and other pressures on disposable income, the savings you’ll make to the family budget by wasting less food is significant.

We throw away 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste a year in the UK. This food waste is responsible for nearly 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to 5.4% of UK territorial emissions.

The majority, 4.5m tonnes, is food that could have been eaten and is worth around £14bn (or £60 a month for an average family with two children). It takes an area almost the size of Wales to produce all the food and drink currently wasted in the UK.

Love Food Hate Waste conducts an annual survey of people’s food waste habits and knowledge.

It highlighted that 81% of UK citizens are concerned about climate change, but only 32% see a clear link to food waste.

The survey helped inform the theme of the Week and the development of materials to motivate people to action.

This year, Love Food Hate Waste found that the public’s relationship with their freezers has become particularly frosty, with 35% of people saying their freezer is “sometimes a total disaster and [it’s] extremely difficult to understand what is inside.

And 19% of people who threw away something frozen in the past two weeks because it lay dormant for too long.

More worryingly, up to 69% of people believe it is safe to thaw meat at ‘room temperature’, which is the exact opposite of Food Standards Agency guidelines and may put them at risk of illness .

Sarah Clayton, Love Food Hate Waste, said: “Knowing how to freeze and thaw is an important factor in keeping food from going to waste in the home.”

She added: “At a time of rising food prices and huge public concern about climate change, tackling food waste at home is a way for all of us to make a difference and save money. money.

“For an average family with children, the cost of food disposal can be over £700 a year. So Food Waste Action Week is all about avoiding those UFOs and knowing how to store and then use our food.”

Love Food Hate Waste wants to show that used correctly, the freezer is the king of the kitchen. In fact, freezing and thawing just three key meat products that are not typically used on time (fresh chicken, bacon and sausages) could reduce wastage of these products by up to 15,000 tonnes per year.

And, when it comes to defrosting, busy households can avoid a long overnight defrost by using their microwave instead, as people use a toaster to defrost sliced ​​bread from the freezer.

Over 15 influencers, including chef Melissa Hemsley, are supporting Food Waste Action Week through their social channels, demonstrating key eating behaviors that can help prevent food waste.

And the focus on food waste will be extended to the hospitality sector, with the Guardians of Grub campaign providing free resources and advice to out-of-home restaurants to focus on food waste during the week.

Love Food Hate Waste is also asking the public to share their own unidentified frozen items on social media, using the hashtag #FoodWasteActionWeek to highlight the importance of labeling the foods we freeze.

Food Waste Action Week will direct people to information and resources on the Love Food Hate Waste website to help address a range of common food waste issues.

And for the first time, Food Waste Action Week is also working with partners around the world to make it an international week of action.

Partners will support the campaign in 12 countries, including Canada, United States, Australia, South Africa, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Mauritius, Indonesia, Jordan, Netherlands- Bas and New Zealand.

Love Food Hate Waste is also grateful for the support of some of the UK’s largest food retailers and brands who have provided financial donations to help amplify the week: including Aldi, Danone, Dunbia, KFC, IHG Hotels and Resorts, Ocado , OLIO and Sodexo. .

Resources and Waste Minister Jo Churchill said: “Throwing away good food is a terrible waste of resources, water and energy.

“The amount of food we waste each year is worth the equivalent of over a million Asian elephants. Almost 70% comes from our own homes and the impact on the environment is immense.

“Food Waste Action Week is hugely important to bring together the entire food supply chain, from farm to fork, to take action on this critical issue.

“There’s a lot we can do as consumers, and I encourage everyone to think of simple and creative ways to help us reach our ambitious goal of halving food waste by 2030.”