Love Food Hate Waste Campaign

Scottish household throw away 566,000 tonnes of food annually! Over two thirds of this waste could be avoided, costing households an average of £430 a year or £550 for families with children.

If we stopped wasting all this food we could prevent carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to taking 1 in 4 cars in Scotland off the road.

The main reasons there is so much waste are cooking or preparing too much, letting food go past it's use by date or forgetting about it. The Love Food Hate Waste campaign provides you with practical hints and tips to help avoid food waste.

Planning and Preparation

This is a great way to get organised in the kitchen and prevent food waste. By just taking 5 minutes to think about the meals you would like for the week ahead you will be much better prepared when food shopping.

Plan simple and straightforward meals for days when you will be busy or home late such as leftovers or prepare meals which can be frozen.

If you buy a lot of fresh produce you could look at buying smaller quantities of fresh food more often so you can enjoy it at it's best.

Storage

To enjoy food at it's best you should know how to store food appropriately and how long it can be stored for.

Sort food in your cupboards, fridge and freezer by date so that you don't forget about the food at the back.

Separate food into portions before freezing and keep cooked an uncooked food separate in the freezer so you know where everything is.

Store food in suitable containers or bags making sure they are well sealed and air-tight for freshness.

For further information on food storage please click here.

Food Labels Explained

It can be easy to get confused by the different labels on food, the important ones you should look out for are use by and best before

Use By - appears on food which can go off quickly such as fish, meat, and milk. Food should be used by this date.

Best Before - appears on a wide range of foods that last longer such as frozen, dried and tinned foods. These dates tend to be about quality rather than safety, it should be safe to eat foods after this date but the food might begin to lose it's flavour and texture.

Portioning

This is a great way to help you plan how much food you need and avoid cooking too much.

Try buying lose products so you can get the exact quantities you need.

Look for smaller sized options if you find some of the packets of food are too big, e.g. half loafs of bread.

Use the portion size recommendations available on packets such as rice and pasta.

Your local butcher, grocer or counters at supermarkets can provide you with the exact amount you need if you ask.

To view Love Food Hate Waste's online portion calculator, please click here.

Using Left Over Food

There are lots of ways to make a delicious meal from leftovers. The Love Food Hate Waste campaign has produced leaflets containing recipes, which are available from the Environment and Resource Management Unit e-mail recycling@shetland.gov.uk or visit the Love Food Hate Waste website which has a range of recipe ideas for leftovers and using seasonal produce.

To use Love Food Hate Waste's online recipe finder,please click here.

Buy Local and Buy Seasonal

The next time you are planning your food shopping why not take advantage of fresh Shetland seasonal produce on offer. Seasonal food tends to be fresher and tastier and also has reduced food miles helping you reduce your carbon footprint. Local produce also tends to have less packaging, for further information on reduced food packing please see positive packaging.