Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the amount of surplus food disposed of by supermarkets in the UK each year and the quantity of such food that was fit for human consumption at the time of disposal.

The Waste and Resources Action Programme estimates that in 2014/15 there were 270,000 tonnes of avoidable food waste in the grocery supply chain fit for human consumption. 47,000 tonnes of this was redistributed to feed people and 37,000 tonnes was used to produce animal feed. 180,000 tonnes went to waste (of which on average around 40% went to anaerobic digestion and other recycling options, 40% for energy recovery and 20% to land spreading).

On 21st December the Secretary of State announced that we will set up a new fund through the WRAP to ensure charities get additional resources to help redistribute food to those who need it rather than letting it go to waste. WRAP will make £0.5 million available to charities and other organisations. The new Food Waste Reduction Fund will provide grants to finance specific projects: fridges or vehicles, IT systems and software, or for training staff and volunteers about food safety skills.