ASDA Health Matters

Food Storage & Preventing Food Waste

The simple reason for most of the UK's waste comes down to us either preparing too much, and throwing away excess in the pan or leftovers on the plate, or by letting the food go out of date before we get around to eating it.

This isn't to say that everyone should start eating out of date food! But you can start by planning what you're going to eat and when, safely freeze or chill something to use at a later date if you can't use it straight away, and find out how to use up your leftovers.

The waste that we create from food has huge financial implications, as well as environmental implications. Each month, the average family throws away £50 worth of uneaten food, so imagine what you could be saving!

Environmentally, if we stopped wasting food which could have been eaten, it would have the same impact on carbon emissions as taking 1 in 5 cars off UK roads.

By storing food in such a way that it keeps for longer you can dramatically reduce your food wastage.

Freezer

Store excess foods in the freezer. By storing them by portion sizes, you can defrost just what is needed.

If you have a glut of fresh fruits such as blackberries or raspberries and vegetables like runner beans, carrots or broccoli, you can freeze them rather than throw them away.

Using freezer bags or freezable airtight boxes is a handy way of storing food in the freezer, but remember to label and date them otherwise it can be tricky to tell what they are!

Keeping Safe - always remember to:

• Follow defrost/cooking instructions where they are provided
• When cooking meat or fish, or re-heating leftovers, ensure the food is steaming hot all the way through before eating
• Use food within 24 hours of defrosting.

There aren't guidelines on freezer temperature but if the freezer is -18°C or below the food should remain frozen.

Fridge

Store excess food in the fridge, if you intend to use it soon. Store leftovers (for no more than two days, and one day for rice) and general shopping perishables, such as fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy, meat, poultry and fish produce in the fridge.

Keeping Safe - always remember to:

• Cool cooked leftovers as quickly as possible (ideally within one to two hours)
• Never eat a product after its 'Use By' date.
• Ensure that the food being cooked or re-heated is steaming hot all the way through before eating, and don't re-heat more than once.
• Keep the fridge at the temperature 1°- 5°C for safe storage.

Air tight boxes

Air tight boxes are a great way to store leftovers. Most air tight containers will say on them whether or not they are freezer or microwave safe.

Bag clips or sealable bags

Keep packets of dry foods such as bread, crisps and dried fruit fresher for longer by using clips to keep their bags tightly closed, or transfer them to a self-sealable bag.

Air tight jars

Keep dry foods, spices and herbs, such as pasta, rice and lentils in air tight jars to prevent exposure to moisture.

Clingfilm

Cover open packets of cooked food or sandwiches with Clingfilm in the fridge to prevent them being exposed to air and deteriorating faster.

Ice cube trays - for more than just ice!

Freeze herbs and leftover stock into ice cube trays, and once frozen, transfer them into labelled and dated freezer bags and continue to freeze until needed for future use.

Emergency storage

Cool boxes can be a useful accessory if you've found yourself laden with food and not enough space to store it, for example at parties and the festive season. If there's not enough space in the fridge and freezer, save the fridge for highly perishable goods such as meats, fish, butter and milk, and put the more hardy foods in the cool box with a freezer block. Remember this is only a temporary measure as the freezer blocks will eventually thaw out!

Extra tips

Try to remove as much air as possible by wrapping foods tightly or filling them to the tops of containers. This will help prevent general deterioration of the food, or the food becoming freezer burnt. This is particularly true when storing foods that contain a lot of fat such as meat, fish or poultry as the fat is likely to go rancid if exposed to the air.

Unlike foods which require excess air to be removed, when freezing liquids you should leave a gap between the top of the container and the top of the liquid, as liquids expand when frozen.

Remember to label your food and rotate your food supplies using the rule: longest use by date, use last.

*Note*

Always be careful to read and follow Use By dates on foods and drinks. Even if it looks and smells fine, using it after this date could cause food poisoning and put your health at risk.

What do dates on labels mean?

It is important to follow Use By and Best Before dates on foods, but these terms can be confusing, so here's an explanation:

• Best Before is a guideline on the quality of the product, not when it is unsafe to eat. For example, bread will start to lose its softness and go dry after the Best Before date but it's still safe to eat for a couple of days (you'll see mould growing before long). However, there is an important exception - you shouldn't eat eggs after the Best Before date because they can contain Salmonella bacteria, which could start to multiply after this date.
• Use By dates means the food must be eaten, or frozen, by that date. Eating food past its Use By date can lead to serious health risks, including food poisoning.

Remember, the Best Before date will only be accurate if the food is stored according to the instructions on the label, such as 'store in a cool dry place' or 'keep in the fridge'.

Ways to use your food instead of throwing it away:

• Use leftovers to make up new dishes - they don't have to be eaten the same way as the day before. Leftovers can be used to create new dishes such as the curries or risottos. There are lots of ideas for using up leftovers here. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
• When preparing food, consider what is really needed, whether it's just for one meal or for two. Rice and pasta are commonly over-prepared - use measuring jugs and scales when cooking to make enough for what you need and no more.
• Supplement leftovers with canned and dried products from the cupboard and basic freezer supplies to make a great new meal.
• Check the dates of your perishable items and use the ones with the shortest date first. Be careful not to confuse Use By dates with Best Before. (See above for an explanation on date labelling).
• Plan meals around leftovers by checking what's in the cupboard, fridge and freezer, and make a list before going shopping.

Extra Handy Tips

• A mug of uncooked rice is normally enough to feed up to four people
• Ripe fruit can be chilled to last longer
• Use up fruit on cereal or in curries
• Use up vegetables in stir-fries, soups or casseroles
• Freeze a peeled banana for a banana ice-cream!
• Use overripe fruit in smoothies
• Overripe bananas are great for banana cakes and muffins
• Milk, yoghurt, cheese and butter can all be frozen before their Use By date
• Yoghurts are great on cereals, especially with fruit
• Portion out meat before freezing to make life when defrosting and cooking
• Add leftover meats to cooking or use as sandwich fillers
• Don't put bread in the fridge as it will go stale much quicker
• Check the packaging on chilled ready meals as most are suitable for home freezing
• Home made meals will last in the fridge for up to two days if stored correctly

Need more information?

For more ideas about making simple meals with your leftovers, look at our free ASDA magazine, which regularly features meal ideas and recipes.

The ASDA website carries a wide variety of recipes with an easy to use search facility so you can find a recipe around a main ingredient, by seasonal ingredients or to build a recipe from scratch. With this you can be creative with your cooking using the leftovers in your fridge!

For more information on food storage and using up leftovers visit Love Food, Hate Waste.