Uncut, packed fruit and vegetable guidance

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Uncut, packed fruit and vegetable guidance"

Percival Dennis
6 years ago
Views:

1 Publication date November 2017 Uncut, packed fruit and vegetable guidance Helping reduce consumer food waste through changes to products, packs, labels and retail Produce of

effective in helping consumers reduce fresh, uncut packed fruit and vegetable waste.

2 Visual guide Back of pack There are many considerations when deciding on pack design, label layout and content. This visual guide has been produced to help illustrate examples of how the recommendations in this guidance could look, be applied and, specifically, which labelling and design features are most effective in helping consumers reduce fresh, uncut packed fruit and vegetable waste. These can be adapted to your organisation s style (in design, wording and layout) and to take account of other factors, such as pack size and costs. Nutrition per per ½ pack Average per Typical Values 100g (400g) adult portion Energy Value 888 kj kj kj 26% kcal 888 kcal 888 kcal 8888 kj Fat 8.8g 88.8g 88g 40% High (of 8.8g 88.8g High 88g 66% which Saturates) Carbohydrates 8.8g 88.8g 888g 16% (of which Sugars) 8.8g 8.8g Low 88g 11% Fibre 8.8g 8.8g Protein 8.8g 88.8g 88g 64% Salt 8.8g 8.8g High 8g 39% Reference intake of an average adult (6400kJ/2000kcal). Serves 2. Contact Info g Freephone days a week Storage At home, keep in the original packaging and store in the fridge, below 5ºC to keep fresher for longer At home store below 5ºC Consumer advice Pop these apples in your fridge, so they stay deliciously crisp! Disposal Rinse before recycling. SLEEVE - CARD widely recycled TRAY - PLASTIC widely recycled FILM - FILM not currently recycled 2 3 Use of icon makes it easy for consumers to find information No open life used Appropriate pack size, pricing and promotions The labelling recommendations in this guidance are consistent with those contained in the main labelling guidance document. Front of pack 1 1 BRITISH APPLES Date label and storage guidance are clear and prominent, e.g. front of pack, where possible Whilst packed uncut fresh produce are exempt from date labelling, a 'Best Before' helps people manage the food they buy Only apply one date label Day, month and year clearly shown, where appropriate No open life used Where possible, an icon front of pack provides a useful prompt to make it easier for consumers to see where best to store the product, at a glance Temperature guidance encourages consumers to check their fridge is cold enough, to help ensure their food is kept fresher for longer 2 3 At home store below 5ºC Storage Consumer advice At home, keep in the original packaging and store in the fridge, below 5ºC to keep fresher for longer Pop these apples in your fridge, so they stay deliciously crisp! NB Not all fruit and vegetables should be stored in the fridge, e.g. potatoes, onions, bananas and pineapples Wording reiterates where best to store the product and describes the benefit to the consumer in these examples, that there food will be fresher for longer Help people understand how the pack format and features benefit them Opportunity to include consumer messages and tips, such as those around the journey of food, combined with a message to support a food waste prevention behaviour Recipes and advice particularly important for potatoes for example, to help people understand how they can use them up when they ve cooked or served too much. See page 4 for examples 2

3 Top actions for consumer waste prevention Use storage advice with icon front of pack, where possible Apply a Best Before date (not for cut or prepared foods such as bagged salads, which may require a Use By date) and extend date to the maximum possible Using motivational messaging on pack Make consumer food waste prevention the focus of pack and process innovation Best practice storage guidance 1. Use an icon, such as a fridge, front of pack, wherever possible with the words At home, store below 5ºC. This provides a At home store below 5ºC useful prompt to make it easier for consumers to see where best to store the product, at a glance. This is particularly important for fruit and vegetables, which may be sold at ambient temperatures, in store. 2. Repeat the use of an icon back of pack, where possible, along with wording to show that storing in the fridge will help people keep their food at its best, and encourage people to keep the product in its original packaging to keep it fresher for longer. NB Except for potatoes, onions, bananas and pineapples. See the visual guide for other types of uncut, packed fruit and vegetables. Potatoes At home, store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. To keep fresher for longer, keep these potatoes in their original packaging. Bananas Store in a cool, dry place and, if sold in a bag, To keep fresher for longer, keep these bananas in their original packaging. Onions At home, store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight' and, if sold in a bag, To keep fresher for longer, keep these onions in their original packaging. Pineapple Store in a cool, dry place. Provide additional storage advice where necessary to help consumers enjoy the product at its best. For example for pears or other fruits sold as not fully ripe (as opposed to ripe and ready packs) use wording such as 'ripen at room temperature, store in the fridge below 5 C to keep fresher for longer'. Choice of date label Use By should only be applied for food safety reasons, so fresh, uncut, packed fruit and vegetables will have a Best Before date applied. Whilst there is no legal requirement for fresh uncut fruit and vegetables to have any date label, using a Best Before date could help people manage their food at home. Use only one date label. Consumers find two dates (such as a Display Until date) on pack confusing. 3

4 Top actions for consumer waste prevention Recipe advice/ motivational messaging 1. For potatoes, a large proportion of edible waste is due to too much being served. For example in the mash section of cooking instructions or in the recipe say leftover mash can be frozen up to X days after making it or more general leftovers information e.g. if you cook too many potatoes, they will still be delicious in this recipe* and if you store them in a container in the fridge, you can use them or freeze them within X days. Research has found that consumers are drawn to messages relating to where food comes from and how it s produced, making them think differently about what they are throwing away. And for potatoes, there is a specific opportunity to encourage the use of cooked potatoes, where people have cooked or served too much. For example: 154 days of tender loving care, litres of water and a slosh of olive oil equals wonderful wedges. Surely, even when sprouty, these smashing spuds deserve better than the bin? 2. Serving advice might include room temperature. In cooking and serving instructions reinforce storage message e.g. at home, to keep fresh, store these tomatoes in their packaging, in the fridge until you re ready to use them. Product, pack and retail design Review pack sizes/multipack sizes to help people buy the right amount, particularly for potatoes and carrots. Limit volume promotions which could lead to people buying more than they need or are likely to make use of. Explore ways to extend product life, for example, modified atmosphere packaging or ethylene scrubbing. Do not use open life for fresh, uncut fruit and vegetables, because this should only be applied for food safety reasons. 1 Reducing Food Waste by Extending Product Life, WRAP reducing-food-waste-extending-product-life * Links to on-pack recipe Consider other ways of innovating e.g. processing, supply chain or protocol innovations to add product life. Adding even 1 day s life can reduce store waste, improve on shelf availability and help reduce consumer waste. 1 4

Consumer insights and evidence Evidence on consumer waste at home 2 UK consumers waste 36% food waste Fresh produce is 36% of all household food waste the most-wasted category overall.

5 Consumer insights and evidence Evidence on consumer waste at home 2 UK consumers waste 36% food waste Fresh produce is 36% of all household food waste the most-wasted category overall. Choice of date label and clear storage guidance are the two key factors related to labelling, to help reduce consumer food waste. About half of potato waste is due to not being used in time and over a third due to cooking, preparing or serving too much. Most other fruit and vegetable waste is due to not being used in time. Reasons why consumers waste produce are shown in the charts. Consumer insights Consumers need clear storage guidance and icons help reinforce this in a clear and effective way e.g. to store in the fridge (for most produce) and in the original packaging. For example, we know that many people do not store apples in the fridge, but that those that do, waste less of them. 3 WRAP focus panels have found that consumers respond well to 'motivational' messaging on the story of food. A WRAP survey also reported that consumers value packaging innovations that improve convenience & make products last longer and it's important to show where packs help keep food fresher for longer. 4 2 Household Food & Drink Waste A Product Focus, WRAP

6 Consumer insights and evidence Reasons for not eating potato and carrot purchases Percentage of avoidable potato waste by detailed reason for disposal (by weight; total represents 320,000 tonnes) Percentage of avoidable carrot waste by detailed reason for disposal (by weight; total represents 73,000 tonnes) Not used in time (date label) 6% Not used in time (not date label) 43% Cooked too much 28% Served too much 8% Personal preference/fussy eating 12% Accidents 1% Other 1% Not used in time (date label) 9% Not used in time (not date label) 70% Cooked too much 5% Served too much 5% Personal preference/fussy eating 6% Accidents 2% Other 4% More statistics for other types of fresh, uncut fruit and vegetables are available in WRAP's Household Food & Drink Waste A Product Focus (2014) report 6

7 While we have taken reasonable steps to ensure this report is accurate, WRAP does not accept liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred or arising from reliance on this report. Readers are responsible for assessing the accuracy and conclusions of the content of this report. Quotations and case studies have been drawn from the public domain, with permissions sought where practicable. This report does not represent endorsement of the examples used and has not been endorsed by the organisations and individuals featured within it. This material is subject to copyright. You can copy it free of charge and may use excerpts from it provided they are not used in a misleading context and you must identify the source of the material and acknowledge WRAP s copyright. You must not use this report or material from it to endorse or suggest WRAP has endorsed a commercial product or service. For more details please see WRAP s terms and conditions on our website at WRAP Second Floor Blenheim Court 19 George Street Banbury Oxon OX16 5BH

Fresh chicken guidance

Publication date November 2017 Fresh chicken guidance Helping reduce consumer food waste through changes to products, packs, labels and retail Produce of Visual guide Back of pack 2 There are many considerations