A fifth of the British public would rather eat cooked crocodile anus than a can of tuna that’s two years past its best before date, according to Motatos.
In the week that I’m a Celebrity returned to TV screens, the online grocer received the response from Brits, which it said highlights a lack of awareness around food waste.
While food past its best before date isn’t unsafe to eat and don’t need to be wasted, new research by Wrap found that the average British family wastes £60 a month, or the equivalent of 580 meals worth of good food every year.
To demonstate the scale of this, Motatos partnereed with TV personality Jake Quickenden to give away 580 meals worth of food to football fans in Liverpool last week, as part of the grocer’s mission to raise awareness of unnecessary food waste.
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“I can’t quite believe so many Brits would rather try a stomach churning Bushtucker trial meal than eat a perfectly good to eat can of tuna,” Motatos UK country manager, Christabel Biella said.
“The findings just go to show that there’s a lot of awareness and education needed around best before dates to ensure perfectly edible food isn’t going to waste and to encourage Brits to let go of their fears.
“It’s perfectly understandable that they’re worried they might get sick if they’re eating old food, but that’s simply not the case here.”
Biella explained that best before dates indicate quality rather than safety, adding “as long as they’re stored properly and according to instructions, you should trust your senses. If they smell, look and taste okay, then they don’t need to be chucked in the bin and wasted.”
