Food

Mr. Paice
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the (a) monetary value and (b) volume of imports of (i) wheat, (ii) barley, (iii) fresh vegetables, (iv) potatoes, (v) fresh fruit, (vi) beef and veal, (vii) pork, (viii) bacon and ham, (ix) mutton and lamb, (x) poultry meat, (xi) eggs and (xii) liquid milk from each country of dispatch in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick
A copy of the information requested will be placed in the House Library.

Mr. Paice
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the (a) monetary value and (b) volume of exports of (i) wheat, (ii) barley, (iii) fresh vegetables, (iv) potatoes, (v) fresh fruit, (vi) beef and veal, (vii) pork, (viii) bacon and ham, (ix) mutton and lamb, (x) poultry meat, (xi) eggs and (xii) liquid milk to each country of destination in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick
A copy of the information requested will be placed in the House Library.

Harry Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for food wastage; what his estimate is of the amount and proportion of food which was wasted in the latest period for which information is available; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce such waste.

Dan Norris
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) published the findings of new research into the quantity of household food and drink waste in November 2009 which revealed that 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink are thrown away by households each year, most of which (5.3 million tonnes) could have been consumed. This avoidable food and drink waste is worth £12 billion, on average costing around £480 for every household a year, increasing to £680 a year for households with children.

In the study, three reasons for avoidable food waste were identified; cooked, prepared or served too much; not used in time and other. Just over half of avoidable food and drink waste is classified as 'not used in time', with a value of approximately £250 per household per year, and a further 40 per cent. falling into the category of 'cooked, prepared or served too much'.

Much of the food and drink that is wasted is unnecessary and can usually be avoided, and we are now focusing on how to change people's behaviour, and incentivise retailers to play a more active role. The Government are doing this through their ongoing work with WRAP to cut significantly the amount of food wasted in the supply chain and in the home. This requires a twin-track approach—working closely with retailers and manufacturers, and also directly with householders.

DEFRA funds WRAP to deliver the Love Food Hate Waste campaign which is aimed at helping consumers more effectively manage their shopping and food storage and usage to help cut down on food waste and save money, through providing a number of pieces of advice and information via various media.

The Government are also collaborating with WRAP and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on a project which will help prevent consumer food waste through the application and increased understanding of date labelling (use by, best before, sell by, display until etc.), and food storage and use guidance.

The Courtauld Commitment between Government (represented by WRAP) and the grocery sector also includes a target to reduce household food waste by 155,000 tonnes over a three-year period (ending in March 2010), which places an onus on the industry to implement means of helping consumers to reduce waste—such as clearer and more informative storage and usage guidance and new ranges of product sizes more in line with contemporary consumer demand.

Charitable organisations are also working to minimise food waste by providing the food industry, including supermarkets and restaurants, with an outlet for good quality surplus food by redistributing it to vulnerable people in the community.