Supermarkets told to cut BOGOF deals to reduce UK’s food waste
SUPERMARKETS have been urged to stop offering “buy one get one free” (BOGOF) deals in a bid to cut down on food waste.
A report by the House of Lords European Union Committee revealed 15m tonnes of food is wasted in the UK each year, and 89m tonnes in the whole of the EU.
The report said “it is clear that retailers must assume a far greater responsibility for the prevention of food waste in the home.”
“Retailer actions can pass food waste on to the consumer through incentives and promotions such as ‘buy one, get one free’, which encourage consumers to purchase in large volumes.”
The committee said the EU’s efforts to reduce food waste were “fragmented and untargeted” and said more surplus food should be passed to charities and food banks.
The peers called for a five-year plan by the European Commission to reduce waste in the EU.
Committee chairwoman Baroness Scott of Needham Market said food waste was “clearly a huge issue”.
However the British Retail Consortium (BRC) stated: The government’s own research body found not only do retailers no longer use BOGOFs …they also concluded there is no evidence that promotions increase food waste.”