A House of Lords Sub Committee will quiz Defra officials and NFU leaders over statements made about food waste reduction in the EU.

image expired

In the UK, an estimated 40 percent of food is wasted after purchase; as with most Western countries, the majority of food waste in the UK occurs later on in the supply chain – at the consumer, processor and retailer stages. The last figures published by WRAP in 2011 estimated that 15 million tonnes of food waste is generated per year in the UK.

Although most retailers do not record information on wastage, the first figures from a major supermarket (Tesco) released earlier this week show alarming levels of waste. Tesco tracked food from farm to fork and revealed that an estimated 68 percent of bagged salad produced is wasted. 40 percent of apples and just under half of baked goods also go to waste. 

The Tesco figures revealed it had wasted almost 30,000 tonnes of food in the first six months of the year.

On Wednesday, the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment and Energy will this week take evidence from officials at Defra and the National Farmers Union (NFU) on the EU's contribution to food waste prevention. The committee will look at the effect of the relationships between retailers, such as Tesco, and food producers, as part of its evidence gathering.

The government has said that the EU Commission target of halving food waste in Europe by the end of the current decade is unrealistic. The Lords Committee said Defra representatives would be questioned about the government position and presented with evidence suggesting retailer demand for standardised fruit and vegetables is leading to overproduction and contributing to waste.

The Lords select committee will also ask NFU witnesses to expand on their assertion that retailer behaviour, including contracts to produce more food than required, is generating high levels of waste.