Southern Co-op expands new food waste reduction initiative

Southern Co-op has expanded the trial of its new waste reduction initiative, ‘Reducing our Foodprint’, to 11 stores.

The trial will see participating stores in Berkshire, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire selling selected products past their ‘best before’ date, as it relates to quality, not the safety of the product.

The retailer said an initial trial of the initiative took place at two Hampshire stores and proved a success with the majority of products being sold within a day of being reduced.

The move builds on improvements already made by the independent, regional co-operative to reduce the amount of products which are unsold because they have gone past their ‘use by’ date. With 100% of store waste already diverted from landfill, food which goes unsold is currently broken down to produce biogas and bio-fertiliser through anaerobic digestion.

“People are more aware than ever of the impact of unnecessary food waste. We want to go one step further and prove that a large number of products are still tasty and good enough to eat past their ‘best before’ date,” Gemma Lacey, director of sustainability and communications at Southern Co-op, said.

“We hope this will also raise awareness that there are products in the back of people’s cupboards which don’t need to be thrown away. According to national figures, UK households waste five million tonnes of edible food every year and together we can do more to keep edible food in the food chain.”

This extended trial will initially run for 12 weeks and the products will be available for just 20p with fresh products being sold up to two days after their ‘best before’ date and ambient products being sold up to seven days after their ‘best before’ date.

Products available in the reduction initiative include tinned fruit and veg, dried pasta and rice, confectionery, selected condiments, sugar and sweeteners, coffee, tea and jams as well as chilled products such as soft fruit and fruit juices.

The Food Standards Agency advises that products past their ‘best before’ date are safe to consume but may not be at the optimum quality intended by the producer.