Fruit and veg most wasted grocery item by Britons

Oct. 14, 2010 - PRLog -- A new study has revealed which grocery items are most likely to see the rubbish bin without being eaten each week. Conducted by http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, the UK’s leading discount and voucher code website; the research revealed that fruit and vegetables are the most commonly wasted grocery item by Brits, with one in three admitting to regularly throwing uneaten items away each week.

Due to the large amount of food retailers and grocery discounts featuring on the website, MyVoucherCodes.co.uk conducted this research in order to learn more about the shopping habits of British consumers. 1,390 people aged 18 and over subsequently took part; asked questions surrounding their weekly grocery shop.

Respondents to the study were asked the question, “Which grocery items do you regularly throw away, uneaten, each week?” and asked them to choose from a multiple list of items.

The top five grocery items most likely to be thrown away by Brits, according to the study by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk were as follows:

1) Fruit and vegetables- 35%
2) Ready meals- 29%
3) Bread- 26%
4) Dairy produce (yoghurts, milk, cheese)- 18%
5) Meat- 14%

Of those who chose ‘fruit and vegetables’ as grocery items they regularly threw away uneaten, the majority, 51%, explained that it was because they regularly bought too much with the intention of being healthy. A quarter, 26%, admitted that it was because they often ‘forgot’ about fruit and vegetables they had bought, causing them to spoil.

The respondents who labelled ‘bread’ as a commonly disposed of product were also asked to explain why this was the case. The majority, 62%, explained that loaves were too big to finish before their use-by date; whilst one in five, 21%, explained that they didn’t eat much bread, but still bought a loaf every week “just in-case.”

When asked, “Do you feel guilty about throwing away uneaten food items?” just under three quarters, 74%, of respondents to the study answered “yes.” Comparatively, 86% of those who took part in the study admitted to throwing away uneaten food items every week.

Mark Pearson, Chairman of http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings:

“We wanted to look into the shopping habits of consumers with this research, and to find out  which grocery items are most likely to be wasted at the end of the week. It appears that fruit and vegetables were by far the most likely to get thrown away uneaten by Brits, with the majority blaming unfulfilled ‘healthy intentions’ for their wastage.

“Throwing away uneaten food at the end of the week isn’t only a waste, but it’s essentially money going down the drain. Shoppers should try to limit excess wastage by taking a list to the supermarket and sticking to it, or planning weekly meals in advance. Planning ahead can make all the difference, and help to save the pennies, too!”

ENDS

LINK: http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk

For more information please contact Emma Kent of 10 Yetis Public Relations on emmak@10yetis.co.uk.

Editor’s Notes

Thus study ran from 05/10/10 to 12/10/10. Results were collected on 13/10/10.
Mark Pearson, Chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.
MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year
Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.
MyVoucherCodes is the UK’s most popular discount site.