The equivalent of almost 400 million meals of edible food waste from UK supermarkets and manufacturers each year is not redistributed to those in need, new research shows. According to analysis by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap), an estimated 1.9 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK grocery supply chain every year, 56% of which could be avoided. Only 18 per cent of the 270,000 tonnes of edible food waste produced in 2015 was given to businesses or charities to be used in food banks, the report found. Instead, the large majority of the 270,000 tonnes suitable for redistribution was going to waste, with around 40% going to anaerobic digestion and other recycling options and another 40% being used for energy recovery. A further 37,000 tonnes are currently being used to produce animal feed. Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of food redistribution charity FareShare, said: “Wrap’s report confirms what FareShare has been saying for some time: that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of good, surplus food could be saved from waste each year, and redistributed to charities to feed vulnerable people.” The government’s waste advisory body says the study is the most comprehensive review so far of surplus food and food waste from UK food manufacturers and grocery retailers, highlighting the overall avoidable food waste figures and breaking them down into eleven sub-sectors, such as meat and dairy. “Through a combination of prevention, redistribution to people and diversion to animal feed, the grocery supply chain could, in the next 10 years, almost halve its avoidable food waste, from 2009 when we first started work in this area,” said Dr Richard Swannell, Director at WRAP. It is estimated that around 450,000 tonnes of food waste in retail and manufacturing could be practically avoidable by 2025, a reduction of 23% compared to total food waste levels. Three sectors alone (bakery, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy) would have the potential to account for more than half of it. Action to increase prevention of food waste could save businesses £300 million a year, the report found. (ab)