Top tips for Highland consumers to keep food fresher for longer

14th March 2013

The Highland Council is working alongside Zero Waste Scotland to help raise awareness of the benefits of food packaging and show consumers how packaging and labels can help them waste less and save more. The average household can save £430 a year, or £35 a month simply by making the most of the food we buy.

Did you know that modern packaging allows your food to stay fresher for longer – not just on shelves in the supermarket but in your home as well?. Not only that but the impact on the environment of food waste, is many times greater than the pack it comes in. Much of the food we throw away just doesn’t get used in time, and includes 1 billion ‘5-a-day’ portions in Scotland - that’s 4 portions per person per week.

Chairman of the Council’s TEC Services Committee, Councillor Graham Phillips said: “In my family we’ve noticed food labels are undergoing a lot of change. This will make them less confusing and more helpful so it’s worth taking a closer look at the label, even for products you might buy regularly.”

Most fresh fruit and vegetables, such as peppers, carrots and oranges, will last for at least a week longer if kept in the fridge, but two weeks longer if kept in their original packs (or a loosely tied plastic bag) in the fridge. Given that 31% of all the food and drink we throw away in Scotland is fresh fruit, salad and veg, keeping it in peak condition means we don’t end up throwing it away so saving money.

Top tips include:

· Look out for split packs where each portion is in its own pack meaning you only need to open as much as you need that day

· It’s best not to put bread in the fridge as it goes stale much quicker. Bread keeps better in a cool dark place such as the bread bin or a store cupboard.

· If you buy breads on offer, or it takes you a while to use a pack/loaf up, consider freezing some of it, either on the day you buy them or at any time up to the Best Before date.

· Retailers are removing ‘display until’ dates so that the important ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ are easier to see, and there is only one date to look at

· Most food packs have detailed storage advice, and many are highlighting on the front of pack where to store food to keep it at its best

· Retailers are now moving away from “freeze on day of purchase” guidance to “freeze before the date”, which means if food isn’t eaten when expected it can be frozen before the date to use at a later date.

· Use-by is the only date label that refers to safety. Best before refers to quality and sell-by/display until is just for the shops.

· Always follow on pack storage guidance and instructions. To extend the life of food beyond its date, freeze before the use-by or best before. When you want to use it defrost in the fridge overnight and use within 24 hours.

· Look out for re-closable packs to keep your opened food in peak condition for longer. If your pack doesn’t have a re-closable feature, use a bag clip or put the opened pack into an air-tight container.

The food and packaging industry have developed some great new innovations to help keep food fresher for longer, which means there is more time to eat the food whilst it is still at its best. Examples include extra-filtered fresh milk, vacuum packed fresh meat and packs for fresh fruit & vegetables which helps stop them over-ripening

· Bananas ripen more slowly if packed in special bags so fewer get thrown away

· Shrink-wrapped cucumbers will last around five times longer than non-shrink-wrapped ones.

In the UK we buy almost 3.4 million tonnes of food and drink every year, and this is protected by less than 340,000 tonnes of packaging. The impact on the environment of food waste is many times greater than the packaging it comes in –

· 6 times greater for apples

· 30 times greater for tomatoes and

· 100 times greater for lettuce

For lots more ideas and money saving tips to make the most of your food visit lovefoodhatewaste.com or contact The Highland Council’s Recycling and Waste Team on 01349 886603