Out of date delivery firm wages war on food waste

THRIFTY shoppers are getting cheap out-of-date food delivered to save cash – and cut waste.

Thousands of products – including pasta, biscuits, crisps and cake bars – past their “best before” dates are being snapped up at bargain prices.

The new service is operated by Fultons Foods, which hopes it will reduce the amount of perfectly usable produce that gets binned.

An astonishing seven million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK every year, of which threequarters, or five million tonnes, could still have been safely eaten.

Family-run Fultons, which is based in Barnsley, South Yorks, operates 100 stores in the Midlands and North.

It sells surplus stock direct from manufacturers at “significantly” lower prices than supermarkets.

The firm’s Karen Gunter said: “An increasing number of UK householders are saving hundreds of pounds by taking advantage of the reality of best before dates. These products are perfectly fine to eat.”

“Best before” is a manufacturer’s indication that an item may not be as good quality, but it is not unsafe.

Bargains include roast chicken and pasta Mug Shot down from 84p to 29p, Galaxy cake bars down from £1 to 79p, bottles of 7 Up lemonade down from £1.10 to 59p, and Golden Wonder salt and vinegar crisps from 79p to 50p. Deliveries, which are made by couriers, are free for groceries costing £30 or over.

Online retailer Approved Food runs a similar scheme offering 2,000 items near or past “best before” dates.

It claims regular customers can save £70 on their monthly shop compared to high street prices. The firm’s biggest-selling items include tinned tomatoes and pasta. But it also sells off non-foodstuffs packaged in wrapping with a limited lifespan, for example loo rolls promoting the World Cup. Boss Dan Cluderay, 43, said: “We’re never going to replace supermarkets but people are looking for high-quality bargains.”

East of England Co-op shoppers can buy food up to a month past its best before date for a nominal 10p. The scheme has been expanded from tins, packets and dried goods to include fruit, veg and bread.

Analyst Thomas Brereton, of GlobalData Retail, said: “Retailers selling reduced priced products past the ‘best before’ date is part of a larger trend of consumers changing their perception of food sourcing.”