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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of supermarket brand protections on the redistribution of surplus food; and what discussions she has had with the representatives of the supermarket sector on eliminating food waste.

The Government is investing £2.6m this year to combat food waste through funding the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). This includes engagement across the supply chain, including supermarkets, through the Courtauld 2030 Commitment. Courtauld 2030 is a voluntary agreement and includes a target of a 50% per capita food waste reduction by 2030 against a 2007 baseline. Courtauld signatories take action to prevent food waste in their own operations as well as magnifying campaign messages to help citizens waste less such as those developed for Food Waste Action Week.

We continue to support WRAP’s work with the redistribution sector, which includes the provision of best practice guidance and knowledge sharing across the sector. The Courtauld Redistribution Working Group identified retailer brand labels as a priority barrier to redistribution, and in 2021 WRAP published new ‘Best practice on redistributing own label products in the supply chain’. The guide identifies how a more consistent approach can be taken to the redistribution of surplus retailer own-label food. This will result in more food being made available for redistribution in a timely manner, while making sure brand integrity and product safety are protected. Surplus Food Redistribution Resource Hub | WRAP.