Press release
Embargoed 00:01 5th March 2013
‘Let’s stay together, to keep our food fresher for longer
Storing our food in its packaging can help keep it fresher for up to two weeks longer* and save the
average family upto £270** a year. But new research released today, from Love Food Hate Waste
shows that only 13% of us realise that packaging can play an important role in protecting food in our
homes.
Not surprisingly the research found that after price, freshness and how long food lasts for are the
most important factors for us when we go shopping. We all want to make sure our food is at its best
for longer so that we don’t have to throw it, and our money, in the bin.
In fact there’s a great opportunity for us all to save money every week. Even though the majority of
us, 61% in fact, are mistakenly thinking fruit and vegetables will sweat and go off quicker if they’re
left in the pack. The evidence shows that if we keep our food in its packaging and store it according
to the label when we get it home, we would have more time to eat it, reducing the 4.4 million tonnes
of good food and drink wasted each year.
To help us waste less and save more, Love Food Hate Waste has launched ‘Fresher for Longer’ the
perfect way to help us not waste food. With images of pears asking to hold onto their pack ‘till lunch
do us part’ and cheese pledging ‘you make my shelf life complete’ the theme shows how packaging
can not only protect our food from damage on its way to the shops, but keep it fresher for longer in
our homes.
Fresher for longer’ is being officially launched today in conjunction with Marks & Spencer as part of
its Plan A commitment to help customers live more sustainably. Over the years M&S has introduced
a number of packaging innovations to help us waste less, such as vacuum ‘skin’ packs on fish and
meats and the ‘It’s Fresh’ tab in strawberry punnets, to maintain the quality and freshness of its food
for days longer. Today M&S has also launched a new online interactive ‘Fresher for Longer’ tool, on
its Plan A website for customers to find the best way to store their food.
To save money, the best solution is to buy food we want to store for longer than a day or two, with
the appropriate packaging; for example even fruit and vegetables bought loose can last longer if
stored properly in a bag that is lightly tied in the fridge. Packaging innovation means many
manufactures and supermarkets now use breathable fruit and veg bags, have more re-closable packs
and many more clever features, all designed to make food last longer and save us as consumers
money.
Love Food Hate Waste’s Emma Marsh said: “Saving money is always at the top of people’s wish list
and wasting less food achieves this. By taking advantage of new packaging innovations, getting to
know the packs our food now comes in and discovering the best way our food wants to be stored, for
example at lovefoodhatewaste.com, we can reduce the amount we throw away which will have huge
environmental benefits as well as saving us money. So when I get my food home, I keep it in its
original packaging and check out the instructions on pack to keep my food fresher for longer.”
This new research, Consumer Attitudes to Food Waste and Food Packaging, delivered in partnership
with INCPEN, The Packaging Federation, The Food and Drink Federation, Kent Waste Partnership and
The British Retail Consortium, has been published today by WRAP.
Industry partners said: “Food waste is a global issue. We all have a role to play in reducing it;
manufacturers, retailers and consumers, and there are many ways of doing it. Keeping food in its
specifically designed packaging, and following the dates and storage guidance that appears on the
pack is a great start. We have made significant progress in this area, but there is still more that we
can do to help reduce food waste, reduce the environmental impact and ultimately save consumers
money”.
Ends
Notes to editors:
1. WRAP’s vision is a world without waste, where resources are used sustainably. It works in
partnership to help businesses, individuals and communities improve resource efficiency.
2. Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by government funding
from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland , and Wales
3. For more information on Love Food Hate Waste and fresher for longer visit
lovefoodhatewaste.com
4. Download and use the new fresher for longer artwork including posters and postcards here
5. The full research report can be found here www.wrap.org.uk/fresherforlonger. More
information on all of WRAP's programmes can be found on wrap.org.uk
6. *Helping consumers reduce fruit and vegetable waste September 2008 By keeping fruit and
vegetables in their original packaging in the fridge they will keep up to two weeks longer.
7. ** £270 per family (the value of good food and drink that’s thrown away because it’s “not
used in time”).
8. Customers can find useful food storage tips via M&S’s Plan A website:
http://plana.marksandspencer.com/you-can-do/food-wheel
9. Kate Fox ditties used as part of the social media campaign.
BREAD
POTATOES
Don’t get in a
spin
it really is no
teaser
clip half your bag
in a bread bin
and the other
half in the
freezer
SPID your spud.
Store Potatoes In
the Dark
to keep your
tattles good.
CARROTS AND
APPLES
Carrots and
apples
can happily
chillax
at the bottom of
the fridge
in their packs
CHEESE
CHEESE
Easy peasy cheesy
store,
Ziplock,
Tupperware, fridge
drawer.
Fridges and
freezers
are good for
hard cheeses.
10. Adam Elman, Head of Plan A Delivery at M&S, said: “By reducing the amount of packaging we
use and ensuring its easily recyclable, we’ve worked hard to make it as easy as possible for
our customers to live more sustainably. Packaging plays an important role in protecting the
quality and freshness of our food, which is why we feature on-pack storage advice and
continue to introduce innovative packaging that keeps food fresher for longer.
We’re delighted to be part of this new campaign which is a win-win for our customers – not
only will it help them to keep their food fresh, but it will reduce their food waste and save
them money too.”
11. Dick Searle, Packaging Federation stated: “The Packaging Federation is very pleased to be
working with this wide stakeholder group to examine the role of packaging. This will help
enable us all to reduce food waste. The Fresher for Longer campaign will highlight the ways
that the food that we buy can continue to be well protected until it is eaten.”
12. Councillor Paul Barrington-King, Chairman of the Kent Waste Partnership, said: “The Fresher
for Longer’ campaign is a 'win-win-win' for consumers, taxpayers, and industry. Throwing
away as much uneaten food as we do in England makes no sense financially or
environmentally. Any and all advice to consumers to blow away long-held myths and to do
some small adjustments on how we store food in the home has got to be the way forward.”
13. “Jane Bickerstaffe, INCPEN, said: “INCPEN is delighted to be working with WRAP, Kent Waste
Partnership, the Food and Drink Federation, the Packaging Federation and the British Retail
Consortium. Together we can show consumers how packaging helps them reduce their
environmental footprint by keeping the food they need safe and fresh on its journey to the
shops. And also how, thanks to packaging, they can keep food fresher for longer at home.”
14. David Bellamy, Food and Drink Federation said:” The Food and Drink Federation is delighted
to be working with WRAP and the other project partners on this important piece of
consumer research. We believe the ‘Fresher for longer’ campaign will finally bring home to
consumers that good packaging does actually save waste”
15. Alice Ellison, British Retail Consortium said: “I hope this research helps to end the
demonisation of packaging. We have long said that appropriate use of packaging preserves
food and reduces waste. Grocery retailers have already achieved notable reductions in food
and packaging waste through working with WRAP on the Courtauld Commitment targets and
the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. This report should stimulate further reductions in food
waste by promoting the role that packaging plays in keeping food fresher for longer in the
home.”
Follow Love Food Hate Waste @LFHW_UK
www.wrap.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter at @Wrap_UK
For further media information contact:
Seona Shuttleworth
PR Officer01295 817872
seona.shuttleworth@wrap.org.uk