Top food ingredients that go to waste in summer - such as bread and salad leaves
Half of Brits (49%) say food is one of the best things about summer – but a staggering 68 thousand tonnes of ingredients are going to waste across the UK each summer, research has found.
Bread, salad leaves, and fresh vegetables are the most likely food items to be binned during the warmer months – as a typical household is guilty of throwing out 2.4kg of food over the course of July and August. Other products likely to be discarded include cheese, chicken, fish, and dips – with three-quarters of Brits (76%) admitting that the top reason for such food waste is due to overstocking for events.
The poll of 2,000 adults also found that one in three claim they have less motivation to cook in summer – with two-thirds blaming the heat for their wastefulness. To highlight just how much food gets thrown away each summer, creamy cheese brand, Boursin, has created a giant sand sculpture on Bournemouth beach – depicting wasted fruit and vegetables. The impressive sand art measures five metres wide, and took eleven hours to create.
And it comes as nearly two-thirds of Brits (64%) say they would like to be better at not wasting food – but 56% admit they simply don't know what to do with their leftover ingredients. With this in mind, Boursin has partnered with charity FoodCycle, and former Great British Bake-Off star, Manon Lagrève, to open a pop-up beach-side bistro just a short distance from the sculpture.
Manon Lagrève has teamed up with Boursin and charity FoodCycle to open a beach-side bistro, serving dishes made from commonly wasted food ingredients (PinPep)Manon's Bistro menu utilises some of the UK’s most commonly-wasted ingredients – serving up “simple solutions” for reducing food waste. The Great British Bake-Off 2018 quarter-finalist said: “It’s a pleasure to be involved with such a fantastic initiative.
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“For my menu, I’ve drawn inspiration from British summertime favourites, such as pasta and quiche – but given them my own unique French girl twist to completely transform some of the most frequently-wasted food. All of these dishes are super easy for everyone to re-create at home. Et voilà!”
The study also found that when it comes to eating during the warmer months, the main concern for 37% is food going stale quicker – while other worries include managing to keep food cool (36%), and how quickly particular items wilt or go soggy (31%).
Around four in ten adults (39%) admit they often end up throwing away such food because they don’t know what else to do with it, and 43% admit they do this at least once a week, according to the OnePoll study. Despite the challenges, 49% said food is one of the best things about summer – while eating summery foods ranked as the number one way in which people try to keep the summer alive throughout the year.
This was followed by going on holiday (38%), and continuing to wear summer outfits long after the season has ended (37%). The Boursin Bistro, located between Who Dares Gym and El Murrino beach, and open until September 3rd, is operating on a “pay-what-you-can” basis, with 100% of all donations going to charity, FoodCycle.
A spokesman added: “People have increasingly busy lives, particularly as they return to work and school – but cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. Hopefully, some of these simple solutions for using up leftovers and minimising food waste will provide people with a bit of inspiration, and more time to spend with family and friends as they try to hang on to that summertime feeling a little bit longer.”
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