Charities served up 18m meals from food that would have gone to waste in 2015

A record 9,070 tonnes of food, including 8,084 tonnes of surplus food from retailers and manufacturers, were saved last year

The UK is far worse than the rest of the EU when it comes to food waste (Rex Features)

A record 9,070 tonnes of food, including 8,084 tonnes of surplus food from retailers and manufacturers, were saved last year. This was enough for charities to provide 18.3 million meals to people in need, up from 17.7 million last year, according to figures released by FareShare, a food redistribution charity.

FareShare redistributes food which is in date and good to eat but has become surplus for reasons such as over-production, labelling errors or short shelf-life.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and the Co-op as well as manufacturers such as Nestle and Kellogg’s are among retailers working with the charity to ensure that good food is used for its purpose.

In 2015, the number of charities and community groups FareShare redistributed food to increase by 29 per cent to 2,489. These organisations include homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs and domestic violence refuges.

The numbers are encouraging, said Lindsay Boswell, the chief executive of FareShare. He added that this was the tip of the “food-waste” iceberg.

“There’s so much more to do. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of perfectly edible food gets thrown away, or used to generate energy or animal feed, every year – enough to provide 800 million meals for people in need,” he said.

Demand for surplus food is outstripping supply, according to Mr Boswell. Although FareShare has 20 regional centre around the UK, he revealed that every one of them has a waiting list of charities in need of more food.

(Statista)

About 360 million meals could go to people who are hungry every year if supermarkets weren’t needlessly throwing food away, according to the finding of a new-government funded report which has shown that 1.1 million tonnes of food is being “avoidably” discarded.

“What we need to do is actually have a lot more infrastructure that means there is collaboration between industry, retailers and charities. It takes some organisation,” Richard Swannell, director at waste-prevention charity Wrap, which produced the government-commissioned report, told The Independent.

Food safety procedures will have to be strict and supermarkets must not simply “transfer the waste problem” over to charities, Mr Swannell said.

Supermarkets which faced scrutiny over their food waste practices have been making efforts in the last few years.

Asda has become the first UK supermarket to sell wonky vegetable boxes for £3.50 in 128 of its stores. Waitrose sends surplus food from 50 per cent of branches to almost 100 charities and social enterprises.

Tesco, UK’s biggest supermarket, said it achieved zero food waste direct to landfill in 2009. While Sainsbury’s is now generating 10 per cent of its gas consumption from leftover food waste and achieved its target to put all store waste to positive use in June 2013, meaning nothing goes to landfill.

Still the UK is far worse than the rest of the EU when it comes to food waste.

A 2014 inquiry found that 89 million tonnes of food are wasted across the EU annually. The UK is the worst culprit, dumping 14 million tonnes a year, or twice the EU average. Half of this comes from UK households.

Italy has passed a law which will make supermarkets donate more of their waste food to charities.

The country is now the second in Europe to pass such a law, after a bill was introduced in France in February which fines retailers who throw away unsold food.