We throw out £80m of bananas every year

SUPERMARKETS are advising shoppers on how to use bruised bananas in an effort to tackle food waste.

Storage and recipe ideas will be handed out in stores to help reduce the 1.4million edible bananas thrown away every day.

One in three people currently throw out the fruit if there is a single brown mark on the skin. As many as one in ten dump them if they are still not quite ripe.

The waste costs British families £80million a year, according to Government advisory group Wrap. Sainsbury’s is now encouraging customers to use bruised and blackened bananas to make bread or pastries.

As part of its £10million ‘waste less, save more’ initiative, it has launched pop-up ‘rescue stations’ in more than 00 stores to provide tips and ideas on how to use up any blemished bananas. Paul Crewe, the chain’s head of sustainability, said: ‘The quest for a perfect banana is resulting in waste that could be avoided.

‘We’re determined to help shoppers reduce the number of bananas going to waste at home.

‘Some 61 per cent of Britons admit they never use otherwise discarded bananas in baking, so we want to inspire customers to use their fruit in different ways. There’s no need to bin the bruised ones.’

Fresh fruit, salad and vegetables top the list of foods that most go to waste.