Notes from Carbon Cutters meeting 15th July

The meeting this evening started with a very brief AGM. Accounts and report were accepted, and officers re-elected for 2009-10.

The formal business completed, the speaker for the evening, Emma Barnett from WRAP was introduced.

After a brief summary of some of the different projects that WRAP is involved with, Emma spoke about domestic food waste - which she said was the largest single source of food waste in the UK.

She told us that around 6 million tonnes of food is sent to landfill each year. WRAP conducted a significant "bin-study" and the results of the survey are quite shocking. Around 1/3 of all purchased food is disposed of, uneaten, with related carbon emissions equivalent to 20% of the UK's cars.

Emma frightened us with some statistics of wasted food: 5.1 million potatoes daily, 7million slices of bread (daily) and more than half a million unused teabags. This revelation led Emma to explain that the confusion over dates printed on food packaging lead many people to dispose of good food.

Use-by

This is the key date in terms of safety - never eat products after this date and observe storage instructions. Check if the food can be frozen if you need to eat it at a later date. 'Use by' dates are usually found on chilled products such as cooked meats, soft cheeses and dairy-based desserts.

Best before

'Best before' dates are usually on longer shelf life foods such as frozen, tinned or dried goods and refer to quality rather than safety. So, with these things, it's best to use your judgement. It should be safe to eat food after the 'best before' date, but food may no longer be at its best.

One exception is eggs - never eat eggs after the best before date.

Display Until \ Sell by

Date marks such as 'display until' or 'sell by' often appear near or next to the 'best before' or 'use by' date. They are used by some shops to help with stock control and are instructions for shop staff, not shoppers.

This information is from the lovefoodhatewaste.com website, run by WRAP.

The incredible statistics still fresh in our minds, we were encouraged to explore the website more to learn about storing food correctly, using it in time, and preparing the correct amounts.

There was a short quiz, with many people surprised by the wide variety of foodstuffs that can be frozen to prolong their useful life.