Consideraciones finales

In terms of food purchasing, overall, 88% of participants stated that they generally carried out a regular major food shop and most of these (70%) carried out this shop once a week. A further 15% usually conducted a main food shop a couple of times a month. The most frequently cited shopping days were Saturday (18%), Friday (17%) and Thursday (11%) however, 32% of respondents stated that their main shopping day varied. For 90%

of respondents the car was the mode of transport usually used for the main shopping trip.

Nearly 15% of all respondents stated that they shopped daily to carry out top up shopping with a further 56%

visiting every 2-3 days. Among working respondents undertaking top up shopping, 67% stated that this day was usually variable.

Among buyers of each of the ten selected food items included in the research, a major supermarket was the

‘usual’ outlet used for all the food items. However, in respect of those buying fresh/raw meat (96% of the survey population), 15% cited that they usually used a specialist shop. Of those buying milk (all respondents bar one), around 8% usually used a milkman and a further 8% a small grocer/local shop. Among those buying eggs (98%

of respondents), just over 8% cited that they used a farm shop. Fresh/raw fish was the item that recorded the most non-purchasers (22%) although again, among buyers, the main supermarket was the primary outlet used, with just over 7% of buyers using a specialist shop.

A substantial number of respondents stated that they did not check the contents of the refrigerator before a major shop (either thoroughly (32%) or briefly (39%)) with the implication that this may lead to unnecessary food purchases.

The store to home journey

Overall, 45% of respondents stated that the usual time between completing the main grocery shop and

unpacking was up to 30 minutes, with a further 23% stating this was between 30 minutes to one hour. Around a quarter of the survey population stated that the duration between shopping and unpacking was between one to two hours, with the remaining respondents taking two hours or more.

The usual duration between shopping and unpacking for top-up shopping, was shorter than the main shop with 63% stating that their journey time was up to 30 minutes (the equivalent result among for the main shop was 45%). A further 27% of respondents stated that the usual journey time was between 30 minutes to one hour.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 25 While 69% used the car for top up shopping, a much higher proportion (25%) made the journey by foot

compared to the equivalent result in respect of the main shop (4%).

Only 13% of all respondents used a cool bag/box to bring refrigerated foods home. This varied markedly between lifestage groups with only 6% of the pre-family group using one, 9% of the family group, 15% of the third age group and 22% of the retired group. The use of a cool bag/box had a limited corresponding relationship with the time taken between completing and unpacking the main shop as 25% of the pre-family group took more than one hour, among the family group this was 33%, 37% of the third age group but only 31% of the retired group.

Food storage at home

In terms of food storage in the home (Figure 6), almost all milk, cheese and cooked meat buyers, 90% of chilled ready meal buyers and 88% of bacon buyers stored these in the refrigerator (the remainder stored them in the freezer, which was also true for three out of ten fresh meat and fish buyers). Eggs, if not kept in the fridge, were stored on a kitchen work top by 19% of buyers.

Apples, if not in the fridge, were stored by 38% of buyers on a kitchen work top or vegetable basket in the light (27%). Carrots if not stored in the fridge were stored in vegetable baskets, some in the light (13%), or in the dark (11%). WRAP research¹⁹ has shown that storing apples and carrots in the fridge can maintain their quality and extend their in-home life, making it easier for consumers to eat the whole pack and avoid wasting any.

Figure 6 Those storing selected food items in the fridge (Base: buyers).

99.1 99.7

Bacon Appl es Ca rrots Eggs

Percentage storing in fridge

Food types

Just over eight out of ten apple buyers (85%) stored this item loose (i.e. removed from packaging); this was true for 56% of carrot buyers.

How items were stored once opened and partly consumed varied across the nine food items. Not surprisingly milk is usually stored by almost all respondents (96%) in its original packaging in the fridge. In terms of apples, the majority (63%) stored this item out of the fridge with 19% in the fridge, while 56% stored carrots in the fridge.

The storage of opened cheese was more variable with just over a third of buyers (34%) storing the product in its original packaging in the fridge, and a further 40% in the fridge but in an alternative wrapping. Nearly a fifth (19%) stated that they decanted this item into an airtight container. The storage of cooked meats was similar to that of cheese in that 42% of buyers stored the product in its original packaging in the fridge, and a further 37%

in the fridge but in an alternative wrapping. Just over 11% decanted opened/cooked meat into an airtight container.

In terms of chilled ready meals, most respondents either kept the product in the fridge in its original packaging (41%) or disposed of the product if not completely finished (42%). Fresh meat was fairly equally stored in the fridge (30%) either in original packaging or in an alternative wrapping although nearly a fifth (19%) would

19 Helping consumers reduce fruit and vegetable waste, WRAP, April 2008

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 26 dispose of the item if not completely finished. In respect of fresh fish just over two fifths (42%) would dispose of the item if not finished.

Around six in ten (60%) of all respondents stated that they always followed storage advice on packaged foods (e.g. keep refrigerated) with a further 34% following them some of the time. Nearly six in ten of all respondents (58%) found current guidance on when to eat food (e.g. best before dates) extremely or very helpful.

Use of the fridge to defrost food

Around 35% of the survey population stated that they defrosted food in the fridge. Just over a further quarter of the survey population (26%) stated that they sometimes defrosted food in the fridge. No statistical differences were recorded between lifestages.

Shelf life expectations

Among buyers who provided a response, cheese, followed by eggs, were cited as having the longest expected shelf-life from the time of purchase (Figure 7). Shelf-life expectations for chilled ready meals were 3.6 days on average, 2.8 days for fresh meat and 1.8 days for fresh fish. The storage expectations for apples at 7.5 days and carrots at 7.2 days seemed relatively short (however, it’s not clear whether this is because they would likely have been eaten in this time, or whether the respondents felt they would have gone off).

Not surprisingly across all the food items, expectations of how long the food items would last fell once opened and partly eaten compared to when unopened. The most significant difference was recorded for chilled ready meals where storage expectations fell by more than half and may explain the relatively high proportion of buyers who disposed of the product if not completely finished (42%). A decline in storage expectations was also noticeable in respect of fresh meat, bacon and fresh fish.

Figure 7 Average (in days) food storage expectations from time of purchase (unopened and opened) Base = buyers of each item.

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Milk Cheese Chilled ready meals

Fresh meat Fresh fish Cooked meat

Bacon Apples Carrots Eggs

Days (average)

Unopened Opened

Fridge ownership and condition

In terms of fridge ownership, around 87% of respondents had one fridge, 12% had two and just over 1% had three fridges. Not surprisingly the proportion with two or more fridges (4%) was markedly lower among the pre-family group compared to the other lifestages. Thirty-one per cent of all respondents stated that their main fridge was more than 5 years old (Figure 8), meaning that 70% had replaced their fridge in the last 5 years.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 27 Figure 8 Age of main refrigerator (Base = 329).

8.2

12.8 15.5 14.3 16.4

30.7

0 10 20 30 40 50

Under a year 1‐2 years 2‐3 years 3‐4 years 4‐5 years 5+ years

Percentage

Years

Across the survey population the majority of fridges were fridge/freezer combinations (58%) - with most having a fridge at the top and the freezer below. These fridge types were particularly evident among the pre-family and family lifestages. Among the retired lifestage group, the proportion of standalone fridges was significantly higher compared to the family lifestage group.

Just over 82% of the interviewers rated the fridge door seals as 'Excellent' or 'Good' (NB this was a subjective assessment on the part of the interviewers and has not been validated). Poorly fitting or damaged door seals allow outside air into the fridge and can affect the unit’s efficiency and ability to maintain the correct

temperature.

Interviewers were instructed to take digital photographs of the exterior and interior of respondents' fridges. A full set of images for each household was captured. A selected number are shown in Figures 9-12 grouped by lifestage. Across the survey population, in 20% of the households, the fridges were rated as completely full, with a further 33% rated as three quarters full.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 28 Figure 9 Pre-family lifestage group - examples from image database.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 29 Figure 10 Family lifestage group - examples from image database.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 30 Figure 11 Third age lifestage group - examples from image database.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 31 Figure 12 Retired lifestage group - examples from image database.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 32

Fridge temperatures

It is encouraging that, unprompted, 79% of respondents correctly stated that the fridge should be run at between 0^oC to 5^oC, although just over 10% of respondents did not provide a response, 4% said either -2^oC or -1^oC and 5% said 6^oC²⁰.

When asked how they would know if their fridge is running at the right temperature, nearly 6 in 10 respondents stated they relied on personal judgement i.e. 'if the food felt cold'. Nineteen per cent of respondents stated that they would not know if the fridge is at the right temperature - this was particularly true among the older lifestages (24% among the retired group compared to 11% among the pre-family group). Just over half of households adjusted their fridge dial, around a further third said that they left their setting unchanged.

Responses to several of the attitude statements indicated that there are a number of fridge practices that have implications for food waste. Notably a significant proportion of the survey population (16%) agreed with the comment that fridge temperatures do not make much difference to how long food lasts.

Interviewers were asked to note whether the fridge had an integral temperature display or a fridge thermometer present. Fourteen per cent of the survey population had an integral temperature display and from this group, for 38 respondents (12% of the survey population²¹), the temperature reading was captured. Those fridges with an integral display recorded an average temperature of 3.4^oC. Just over 9% had a fridge thermometer and these thermometers recorded an average temperature of 4.5^oC²². Almost all of those with an integral temperature display or a thermometer present in their fridge correctly stated that the temperature of a fridge should be between 0^oC to 5^oC. Only two gave no response to this question.

The survey also aimed to ascertain an approximate air temperature of the participant’s fridge. Therefore, before starting the interview, interviewers placed a thermometer flat on the middle shelf of the respondent's main fridge towards the back of the shelf. The fridge door then remained closed for the duration of the interview (25-30 minutes). The average air temperature reading recorded by the interviews using the thermometers provided was 5.9^oC. (It should be noted that the thermometer used by interviewers (Figure 13) was a ‘domestic’ one, which would not have been as accurate as the datalogger used in the more detailed study described below in Section 4.2).

Figure 13 Example image of thermometer placement in respondent refrigerator.

20 The survey design was such that a specific figure was requested rather than a range.

21 In eight cases the temperatures recorded by the interviewers were not legibly noted and were therefore excluded from the analysis.

22 Given differences in styles of thermometer along with associated variability in accuracy and type of gauge, these results should be treated with caution.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 33

Food waste

While most respondents stated that they did not throw any of the specific food items away unopened on a frequent basis, a significant number across all the items did so occasionally (Figure 14).

Figure 14 Disposal of food items unopened (Base: Buyers of food items).

Disposal of cooked meats was relatively high (42%) as was the disposal of chilled ready meals (38%). Responses across all the items indicate that there is a significant opportunity to address food waste at a domestic level e.g.

by improving storage, encouraging freezing and better planning.

Again, across all the items there were a significant number of respondents who stated that they sometimes disposed of these items after they’d partly consumed but not finished them (Figure 15).

Figure 15 Disposal of food items opened & partly eaten/drunk (Base: Buyers of food items).

The data indicates that the proportion of respondents disposing of cooked meats once opened is relatively high at 59% however it is possible that respondents will have included not only pre cooked meats e.g. sliced ham but also meat bought fresh and cooked at home.

Reducing food waste through the chill chain 34

4.1.3 Limitations of the study

The survey design used a quota sampling approach. While this approach is frequently used in research of this type there are greater risks associated with bias and sampling error compared to random sampling methods. The limited number of households included in the survey also means that the sample should be regarded as a

“typical” cross-section rather than a statistically representative sample of the GB population. Thus generalisations to the wider population cannot be made with confidence.

The behaviours recorded in the survey are self-reported. This may have led to some of the reported behaviours being modified to some degree through the influence of having an interviewer present during completion of the survey.

As already noted the thermometers provided by Campden BRI to the interviewers for use during the survey (Figure 21) was a ‘domestic’ one, which would not have been as accurate as the datalogger used in the more detailed study described below in Section 4.2.