Tesco : resealable salad bags help customers cut food waste

26 May 2017

Shoppers are to be given a helping hand to reduce food waste thanks to Tesco's new resealable salad bags.

Salads are one of the UK's most wasted foods by households, and figures* show that Brits throw away around 37,000 tonnes from their homes each year - the equivalent of 178 million bags of salad.

The new bags have a sliding zip lock, similar to the ones used for family-sized cheese portions, to keep the salad from spilling out once it's been opened.

The packaging is made from a thicker film than usual to help protect the leaves from getting damaged.

Tesco produce buyer manager Adam Hill:

'Over the last two years we've been working with our growers to develop new packaging which allows customers to return to their bags of salad over a number of days with very little hassle or fuss.

'We know many shoppers roll up their bagged salads after using them once and stick them at the back of their fridges where they are forgotten for days or even weeks.

'These new bags are made from stronger material to protect the leaves from getting scrunched up - so preventing them from going to waste.'

Tesco's research found that:

• Shoppers do not always buy bagged salads with a meal in mind which can lead to them being forgotten purchases
• Current bags are not strong enough to protect leaves and do not seal so salads tend to spill out in the fridge
• Shoppers believe that air going into a bag once its opened is 'bad air' and want a way to stop this occurring

The move to launch the resealable salad bags has been welcomed by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) - a not-for-profit organisation that works with governments, businesses and the public to promote waste reduction.

WRAP's business programmes director Steve Creed said:

'We commend Tesco for introducing a new resealable packaging format for their pre-prepared salads which will help in the fight to reduce household food waste.

'At present, nearly 40 per cent of lettuce and leafy salads bought by householders end up being thrown away in the home.'

The new Tesco salads in resealable bags are priced as follows Babyleaf spinach (240g) - £1.50; Iceberg lettuce (260g) - £1; Sweet and crunchy (370g) - £1; Babyleaf salad (140g) - £1.50.

The new packaging is part of Tesco's 'No Time For Food Waste' campaign to tackle food waste wherever it occurs - from farm to fork.

ENDS

Note to editors:

• Latest data from retail analysts EPOS shows that UK shoppers bought 431 million in the 52 weeks to April 22 2017 - a 2.7 per cent growth on the previous year.

• In 2012, WRAP published research that provided estimates on the amount and type of food and drink wasted in UK homes. It found that lettuce and leafy salads had among the highest level (nearly 40 per cent) of household food waste in the UK.