Food: Waste

(asked on 21st July 2020) - 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 guidance his Department has issued to (a) food and drink wholesalers and (b) redistribution organisations to minimise the waste of food through the legal distribution of food that has passed its best before date.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 2nd September 2020

Following the decision taken to implement the lockdown at the end of March, in order to protect the NHS and save lives, thousands of cafes, restaurants, work canteens and school kitchens shut down immediately. Food that was already in kitchens, freezers, wholesalers’ warehouses, or in transit to the food service sector, could not be used. Some of this food is now beginning to reach its ‘best before’ date, and we need to ensure that it is not wasted.

Our food surplus and waste champion has written to the food industry, to ask that all surplus food that is safe and suitable to eat is made available and redistributed.

Working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), and others, Defra has made information available to businesses, trading standards officers and food hygiene officers about the rules on use-by and best before dates. This information makes it clear that 'Best Before' is an indication of quality, not safety, and that food approaching or even past this date may still be used, sold or redistributed. Only food beyond its 'Use By' date should not be used.

Our food industry has already shown itself to be resilient, agile and innovative in shifting direction at a moment's notice to deal with Covid-19 and keep the nation fed. Now that restrictions are being relaxed, Defra urges businesses to, wherever possible, prioritise stock which needs to be used most urgently, before moving to goods with later 'Best Before' dates. In doing so, they can be confident that their trading standards and food hygiene officials will provide support and, as long as the food is safe to use, that there is no legal restriction in doing so.

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