While an average restaurant throws away £10,000 worth of food every year, food waste is usually not high on the list of priorities.

The Sustainable Restaurant Association measured the origin of restaurants’ food waste and found that the majority (65%) came from the preparation of food, 30% from customers’ plates and 5% from spoilage (ie. out of date or unusable items). If restaurants targeted food waste as part of their CSR strategy they could gain financially as well as benefiting the environment.

Useful tips to help you minimise food waste

  1. Think outside the box: One of the most important pieces of advice is to work with suppliers to ensure you can use absolutely everything purchased. Be creative in your recipes so that each part of a produce can be used in one or more recipes.

  2. Inspect all food orders upon arrival: Thoroughly examine all food orders that you receive by inspecting items randomly, and not just those on the top. If the food is spoiled or well on its way, do not accept the order.

  3. Popularise doggy bags: In a study, The Guardian reported that 74% of respondents were in favour of being offered doggy bags however, 42% of people agreed with the statement ‘asking for a container to take leftovers home is embarrassing’.

  4. Use innovative food optimisation materials: Last year Unilever launched an app facilitating food businesses to look at food waste generation. By identifying what kinds of food are being wasted, and why, businesses can adapt their processes.

  5. Allow greater menu flexibility: Offering different portion sizes and/or welcoming food customisation requests (eg. swapping chips for mashed potato) encourage customers to finish their meal.

  6. Store products properly: All products should be stored in a standard food box or food packaging wrap to prevent waste from cross-contamination. Similarly, you must ensure that your food is stored in appropriate temperatures.

  7. Keep everything labelled and organised: Use food labels to clearly and easily identify important details (eg. what the item is, when it arrived, and when it must be used by). Once labels are applied, make sure you use the first in, first out (FIFO) storage method by placing new arrivals behind older items so that the older products get used first.

  8. Donate food you will not use: As a humanitarian alternative, send unused food to food donation organisations which supports those in need.

If you are interested in such issues, you can participate to the Waste-Works event at the Excel centre London from the 22nd-25th March. This exhibition is dedicated to the food & drink industry and is designed for those looking for cost-saving and profit-making waste solutions in their business. You can register here for free.

In addition, the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) has been delivering FoodSave projects to help premises reduce their food waste, boost profit and lessen their environmental impact.

Finally, you can book your environmental awareness course with Food Alert here.

If you have any enquiries about this topic please comment below or contact Food Alert on 020 7244 1900 or e-mail enquiries@foodalert.com




Food Safety


Food Alert