Supermarket to reduce waste by selling ‘portion sizes’ at food counters
It is a problem which many shoppers face when trying to buy loose foodstuffs such as meat or fish: how much is a typical portion?
But now, one supermarket is to attempt to solve the conundrum by introducing a ser vice to allow customers to buy specific portion sizes of ingredients for popular dishes such as chilli and fish pie.
Fresh food counter sat Morris ons stores will take into account the number of people the customer is feeding and even their budget after feedback from shoppers found that people floundered when buying exact weights of meat or fish.
Research found that many people feel daunted by knowing how much of a certain food they should buy for a typical portion or to make a particular kind of dish.
As part of thenewi ni ti ative, signage and recipe ideas at the butchers, fishmongers and deli counters will describe how much of an ingredient should be bought for popular meals, while storage, cooking and recipe advice will also be offered to help stretch household budgets.
Meanwhile, guidance on the number of portion sizes will be on counter labels for cuts of meat, fish, cheese, tapas and olives to help guide customers.
The supermarket said it wanted the“We’ ll Weigh What You Need” initiative to help those looking for alternatives to larger pre-packed sizes which can lead to increased amounts of food waste.
Jayne Wall, director of Market Street operations at Morrisons said: “Our expert counter staff will help them buy exactly what they need, reducing their food waste bill and saving their pennies in the process.”
Iain Clunie, head of food and drink at Zero Waste Scotland, said :“Helping shoppers to only buy the food they need could really help to reduce the huge amount of food which is wasted each year across Scotland. Scottish households throw out around 600,000 tonnes of food and drink each year and most of this is avoidable. Better planning of meals and food shopping is one of the key ways in which people can reduce the amount of food they throw out.”