Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, has been seeking support from local supermarkets for her campaign against food waste. She visited Waitrose in High Barnet on Friday to talk to them about her campaign.
She was shown round the store by Phil Archer, manager of Waitrose, High Barnet, and Quentin Clark, Head of Sustainability for Waitrose in the UK. She met a number of members of staff (or partners as they are at Waitrose) to hear about the efforts being made to cut down on food waste.
Following the visit, Theresa said: “It was very encouraging to hear how seriously food waste is taken by the team at Waitrose in High Barnet. They explained the range of ways in which they are trying to cut down on food waste, for example by providing information on food labelling. It is important that consumers are aware that there is a significant difference between “Use by” and “Best before”. For safety reasons, there is a health risk if food is consumed after the “Use by date”. But products can often be safely eaten after the “Best before” (but before the “Use by”) date has expired.”
“I was also briefed today about the donations given to charities where food has not been sold but is still safe to eat. Food which is beyond the “Use by” date and cannot be donated to charities for people to eat, is often given to animal charities such as the RSPCA. The remaining products which can’t be donated to charity or for animal consumption, generally go to anaerobic digestion to create energy from waste.”
Any Barnet charities interested in receiving donated food from Waitrose can contact them on [email protected]. Further information on supermarket sustainability can be found at the following Waitrose link and food waste tips are available on the WRAP website.