Food companies should have to report how much they throw away as a first step towards reducing the vast amounts of edible food squandered in the UK, a group of prominent businesses have said.
About a third of the food produced globally every year is binned, much of it before it reaches the consumer at a cost of almost £22bn annually to the UK economy.
There is also a heavy environmental toll: food waste globally contributes up to a 10th of greenhouse gases.
More than 30 food businesses, including supermarkets and food producers, have written to the environment secretary, Steve Reed, calling for mandatory reporting of wasted food.
They argue that forcing companies to confront the reality of how much they produce and what happens to it will spur better behaviour, including more efficient processes and increased efforts to reuse surpluses.
Reed has spoken repeatedly of his desire to see a “circular economy”, with less waste of all kinds. The government has a target of halving food waste by 2030, but has yet to set out new measures to meet it. The Observer understands that ministers are willing to consider placing a duty on companies to report their waste.
Jamie Crummie, co-founder of Too Good to Go, an online service that lets restaurants and food retailers advertise last-minute surplus food at a discount to consumers, organised the letter to Reed, along with the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
He said compulsory reporting would be a vital first step and would allow everyone – consumers as well as the government and other businesses – to judge how careful, or profligate, suppliers were in comparison with their peers.
“Food waste is one of the largest contributors to climate change,” he said. “In the UK alone, we throw away 10.7m tonnes of food annually. We are delighted to see the environment secretary set out the creation of a zero-waste economy as a priority. In line with this ambition, and with the support of more than 30 businesses from across the food sector, we hope to see swift implementation of mandatory food waste reporting to ensure transparency and accountability when it comes to our food.”
The letter is signed by several of the UK’s biggest supermarkets, including Tesco, Waitrose, Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer, as well as the BRC, which represents shops. Food producers including Nestlé, Princes, Innocent Drinks, Yoplait and Yo! Sushi are also on the list.
Mandatory reporting, as envisaged by the signatories, would not be imposed on farmers, but every company above a certain size in the food chain beyond the farm gate.
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Some food producers are already using new techniques such as AI to make their supply chains more efficient and cut waste, as well as more traditional methods such as donating still-edible surpluses to food banks.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “The amount of food we waste is a stain on our country. We are working with business to drive down food waste and make sure food is put on the plates of those in greatest need. This includes supporting surplus food to be redistributed to charities and others that can use it and on programmes to help citizens reduce their food waste.”
The letter’s signatories are also working with MPs to raise awareness of the problem. Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, who is also vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on the environment, said: “The number of meals that are simply thrown away in the UK each week is deeply concerning. To reduce food waste across the board, we first need to move beyond the throwaway culture we have become far too used to.
“That’s why we are pushing to work with businesses by putting in place the right incentives to cut back on waste and overconsumption.”