Have you ever come across this special “fridge” in Albert Heijn (AH), in which all products inside are labelled with “35% korting samen tegen verspilling” (EN: 35% discount, together against (food)waste) or “35% korting weggoien is zonde” (EN: 35% discount, throwing away is sin)? Would you be interested to buy these products, or would you just walk away, feeling disgusted?
Food loss and food waste are real problems in this world. Harvard School of Public Health defines the difference between the two as follows:
- Food “loss” happens before the food is at the hands of consumers, as a result of issues in the production, storage, processing, and distribution phases.
- Food “waste” are food that is suitable to be consumed but consciously discarded at the retail or consumption phases.
According to UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, it was estimated that approximately 931 million tonnes of food waste were generated worldwide in 2019. Whoa, this is unbelievably a lot of waste! 61% of this waste came from households, 26% from food service, and 13% from retail. In the EU alone, up to 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually. Wasting food is just equal to wasting money, and it is actually worse than that: UNEP also reported that approximately 10% of total GHG emissions are associated with food waste. Most of this discarded food ended up in landfills, resulting in the generation of methane gas.
What can we do then? Back to the first paragraph of this blog. Personally, I would go check that fridge, to see if there is anything that I can use. In general, I love discounts and if I can save both money and the environment – I will certainly do it! From my experience, there are various products that are still good and totally edible that you can rescue. I have rescued some mackerel fish, chicken, veggies, and even cakes to be thrown away by AH. Sometimes, you can also find salads, sushi, and different types of meat. Mmm… are you convinced to go to AH now?
Of course, this is not a paid-promote blog post. AH is the closest supermarket to my apartment, so I know their products better than other supermarkets. Other than that, I also want to share with you my favourite app to rescue food. Perhaps you have heard it: Too Good To Go.
Too Good To Go is an app where you can rescue food from being wasted. You have to enter your location, so the app can show places around you where you can save the food. From groceries, bakery, until restaurant meals – Too Good To Go have it. You can also find vegan and vegetarian options. What is better: the price can be as low as 1/3 of the original price! It is such a perfect app that I would rate 5/5 on Google Play (or Apple Store). My personal favourite is to rescue food from the bakery (NL: “brood en gebak“) because the original price is normally expensive and I will feel guilty spending so much money on sweets. I have rescued so many donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts so far, and they are just AMAZING. One donut would normally cost between €2-3, and I could get a box of 6 for only €5. The taste and appearance? Perfectly the same as the expensive one 😀
FDA also gives some tips to reduce food waste:
- Plan and write your shopping list before doing the groceries. Check first what you already have at home. Do not buy things that you do not need.
- When eating out, ask first how big the portion is. Bring home (take away) the meal that you can’t finish instead of leaving them to be wasted.
- Always check your fridge. Eat old items first, or freeze items if you can’t immediately cook/eat them.
- Learn more about food dating “best before”, “use before”, etc. Many people misunderstand these labels, and many food left wasted because of this misunderstanding.
- Be creative! You can create new dishes and snacks with leftovers. This is also very relevant if you rescue a grocery bag from Too Good To Go.
Do you have any other tips to reduce food waste? Comments below!
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