Food: Sales

(asked on 13th April 2021) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent environmental impact assessment his Department has undertaken on increases in portion sizes of food sold by supermarkets.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 21st April 2021

The Waste and Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP) evidence suggests that having a wider range of pack-sizes / formats at the right price could be one of the key solutions to reduce food waste and the associated negative impacts on the environment. They estimate that helping customers buy the right pack size for their needs could prevent more than 200,000 tonnes/year of food waste across key packaged perishable categories annually.

We work closely with WRAP and their work with retailers and manufacturers to push for pack sizes that meet the needs of single-person households, or homes in which householders eat as individuals, rather than together, and that these are available at the right price point; that there is clear communication on portion or servings size. We also support WRAP work in testing and rolling out product innovations such as split-packs or resealable packaging where it increases product life. A regular retail survey ensures we can monitor progress and share best practice across the sector.

The Government’s reduction and reformulation programme includes reducing portion size as one of three mechanisms for action to be used by all sectors of the food industry to reduce intakes of calories, sugar and salt.

Reticulating Splines