Shopper angered she couldn’t buy store’s leftovers
SHE CLAIMS SHE THEN SAW STAFF PUT THE FOOD IN THE BIN – STORE SAYS IT WASN’T SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION
A BURTON woman who asked if she could buy leftover food to give to charity was left shocked when she claims she then watched an Aldi employee throw it in the bin.
Lidia Simpson said mountains of plastic-packaged food produce was thrown away at the Aldi store on Rykneld Road in Littleover, Derby, at around 7.30pm on Thursday, November 2.
Lidia approached the employee in charge of the bin and questioned her.
She said: “We often go to the Hollybrook pub and the Aldi is on our way home, so we often just pick up bits when we pass by. We’d just paid for our shopping at the till. They’d got loads and loads of food on this checkout that they were just chucking into this big bin.
“I took a picture of it because I couldn’t believe the amount of waste, especially in this day and age with the cost of living crisis and homeless people. All the plastic and cardboard would’ve gone straight to landfill as well, rather than being recycled.”
A picture of the discarded food shows packs of sweet potato burgers, brussels sprouts, avocados and chocolate apples.
She said: “I asked the woman if it was going to some kind of charity. She said no, that it was all waste and was no good to anyone. I think it’s an utter disgrace really. I know other supermarkets give to charity, do 75 per cent reductions and put their old food on Toogoodtogo.”
Aldi states that perishable products such as bread, meat and fruit and vegetables are marked down by either 30 per cent or 75 per cent before stores close on their last day of life. They also say they donate surplus food which is safe to eat, although it is unclear how or to where they donate this.
Some items they say are not suitable for donation, such as fresh produce with damaged packaging, or chilled items that have gone past their Use By date. But Lidia argued that the food looked fine.
She said: “There was nothing wrong with the food. I would’ve bought some. I told the woman it was really bad, but she just walked away and didn’t really say anything. I’ve never seen that amount of waste in Aldi ever.”
Bosses at the supermarket said that its bins are emptied every few days and in this case, the bin had not been emptied for a while. As a result, some of the items in the bin were products that had already been reduced until they were no longer safe to be consumed.
Lidia said: “Stuff like this needs to be brought to the attention of somebody. Why is it still being allowed? It’s dreadful. People can’t afford food. It’s a crying shame that they’re growing these vegetables and just chucking them away. There are no ethics in this.”
An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are committed to reducing food waste as well as working with food distribution organisations to help people in need.
“Aldi has donated more than 27 million meals to over 3,800 local causes through our partnership with Neighbourly, and we will continue to do everything we can to support the vital services that food distribution organisations provide.”