Make the most of your freezer and save money with '˜Freeze not throw away' message

It has been chosen as the theme of this year’s Food Safety Week (4-10 July), following new research from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) which revealed that 68% of UK adults report they have thrown food away in the past month.

Over two thirds (36%) of those who had thrown away food said they had done so due to it being past its use-by date. Other top reasons for throwing food away include buying too much and not eating it, which was reported by 30% of people; and not having the chance to eat food before it went off, which almost a quarter (23%) gave as an excuse for putting food in the bin.

This contributes to the seven million tonnes of food that is wasted in the UK each year which, according to the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, costs each household around £470 annually.

Daventry District Council is backing the FSA’s campaign to encourage residents in Daventry District and across the UK to help tackle the problem of food waste by planning ahead and, if necessary, to freeze food within its use-by date.

Councillor Mike Warren, Portfolio Holder for Health and Housing on Daventry District Council, said: “Lots of people believe food can only be frozen on the day of purchase, but the freezer is like a pause button and the Food Standards Agency advise that you can safely freeze most foods right up to the use-by date. You can even cook defrosted meat into a new meal and freeze it to eat on another day.

“With so much food being thrown away in the UK each year, we are asking Daventry District residents to think about how they can use their freezers to their full potential, rather than putting food in the bin. Also, a full freezer is more economical to run.”

While food is kept safe in the freezer, the FSA recommends eating it within three to six months and checking for any freezing instructions on the packaging. Food should be eaten within 24 hours of being fully defrosted.

Kevin Hargin, head of Foodborne Disease Control at the FSA said: “Every year, we throw away seven million tonnes of food and drink from our homes. Much of this waste is unnecessary, and a better understanding of how to freeze food safely could go a significant way towards tackling the problem.

“Our research shows that many of the fears the public has about freezing food are unfounded and we need to ensure they know the facts. 31% of the people we spoke to said that more information about how to safely freeze food would help them to reduce their food waste – that’s why freezing is the focus of this year’s Food Safety Week.”

For more information on freezing food safely, visit www.food.gov.uk/useby or follow @foodgov #EatitCookitFreezeit on Twitter.