• WRAP details progress by individual retailers, but says more needs to be done in implementing best practice for packs and labelling to help cut household food waste. 
• New guidance to reduce fresh produce waste encourages more to be sold without Best Before dates, and loose.
• Changes could help reduce the UK’s annual food waste bill, including binned fruit and vegetables worth nearly £4 billion. 

Sustainability body WRAP has today published its latest Retail Survey, indicating to what extent the UK’s largest grocery retailers and major brands have made progress implementing best-practice guidance on date labels, product life, pack size and storage/freezing advice.

WRAP visited nearly sixty supermarkets and examined 2,000 food products – representing those most frequently wasted in our homes. The research found that a quarter of all pre-packed unprepared fresh produce now carries no date label, while the available shelf life of other products, such as milk, has increased.

For the first time, each retailer has received a detailed assessment of its own performance, including where improvements are required, which is summarised in the Retail Survey.

Peter Maddox, Director at WRAP, explains “The way food and drink is packaged, labelled and priced can influence household food waste, and retailers and brands are uniquely placed to help minimise food waste in the home. Our research shows that people want clear, consistent information on pack to help them keep food fresher for longer. Overall, we’ve seen good progress from all, but we have also been very clear with each company where more work is required, and where they are falling short.

The results are accompanied by new guidance for the sector for fresh, uncut fruit and vegetables, produced by WRAP, the Food Standards Agency and Defra, and expected to significantly reduce the UK’s annual food waste bill. The guidance will help retailers identify where more fresh produce can be sold loose*, and reduce the application of Best Before dates on some pre-packed fresh produce – where it can help reduce food waste at home.

Retail Survey findings 

On track

• The amount of product life available to consumers has remained stable on many products. However, more than one-fifth of items found on shelf had just two days or fewer remaining life; including bread, minced beef and berries. For milk, an increase in 1.5 days of available shelf life was noted, which is excellent as an extra day alone could help reduce household milk waste  by more than 20,000 tonnes per year. 
• A quarter of all pre-packed unprepared fresh produce now carry no date label, which aligns to the updated guidance. Three retailers have removed Best Before on some fresh produce, with another committing to remove them from selected produce. 
• Almost all products had correct home storage advice and WRAP’s Little Blue Fridge logo has increased in prominence. This indicates when foods, such as apples, stay fresher for longer when refrigerated at home. Eight retailers are committed to reviewing or amending storage temperature advice of “