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Food often ends up unnecessarily in the trash. We give practical tips to avoid food waste in everyday life.
In today's society, we are used to having everything available to us in abundance at all times. Unfortunately, the eyes are often bigger than the stomach and parts of our food end up in the bin. In the EU, private households alone are responsible for more than half of the food thrown away. That is around 173 kg of waste per capita, which is only created by throwing away food and often has serious consequences. Since sustainability is not only important to us in the garden, we would like to share six tips on food waste with you.
6 tips against food waste
Food waste is unfortunately omnipresent in our everyday life. Here are a few simple tips to avoid most of them. It's not about perfection for us, it's about promoting a more conscious approach to food. In this way you can make your life more sustainable and at the same time protect your wallet.
1. Plan Meal
This tip may seem trivial at first, but it can make a big difference. Because if you take a little time at the beginning of the week and think about how often, when and what you will eat in the next few days, you will shop in a much more organized way. On this occasion, the inventories can also be checked and replenished if necessary. Equipped with a shopping list, shopping is much faster and you save yourself unnecessary impulse purchases that may not be used in the end. Of course, that doesn't mean that your favorite chocolate can't end up in your shopping cart.
2. Pay attention to the expiration dateWhen shopping, take a look at the sell-by date and then weigh it up. Can you really finish the large jar of yoghurt with a reduced shelf life on offer in the next few days, or are you not at home? Does the meat keep until the weekend, or is it better to buy it fresh on Saturday? Of course you can't go there every dayDrive to the supermarket, but you should still not buy perishable goods such as meat or fish too far in advance. However, caution is also required with regard to the best-before date: After all, the food often has a much longer shelf life than stated. A simple taste and smell test can provide clarity here.
3. Less is more
Unfortunately, XL packs are usually on sale. Less is often more: After all, it is neither financially nor ecologically worthwhile if half of the biscuits end up in the trash because they are old and inedible. It is best to buy fruit and vegetables unpackaged. Not only can you better estimate the quantity, but you can also take a closer look at the individual fruits. Fruit nets and the like often ensure that the groceries have to be disposed of by the supermarket. Because if a fruit is bad, all the other fruit that can still be eaten have to be thrown away with it. We therefore advise that you prefer to use individual goods, the supply of which will also increase over time with greater demand. In this way you avoid plastic waste and counteract food waste at the same time.
4. Store food properlyTo ensure that your purchases last as long as possible, it is important to ensure that they are stored correctly. Perishable foods belong in the refrigerator immediately after shopping - preferably in the compartment provided for them (meat and fish at the bottom, dairy products in the middle shelf, leftovers, eggs and cheese at the top). Dry food, on the other hand, should be stored in a dry and dark place, after opening it is best in glasses or other tight containers. You should be particularly careful with foods such as tomatoes and apples: it is better to keep them separate from others! Regular checks of stocks are particularly important. This not only prevents rot or mold from spreading, for example, but also gives you a better overview of the food that is still available.
Especially with large harvests from your own garden, other methods of preservation are worthwhile. In our article we present different ways of preservation. Tips & tricks for freezing fruit and vegetables can be found here.
5. Use leftovers
The main thing here isto integrate food that has already been cooked and opened into the diet in a sensible way and to use it up before it goes bad. As already mentioned, this requires good planning and regular checks. In general, you should always store leftovers well (e.g. in a can in the fridge) and give them priority in your menu. With a bit of imagination, a "leftover meal" can also become a real culinary highlight. If you are still missing a bit of inspiration, you will find it on the Internet, for example at Restegormet.de. Here you can specify what you would like to use and get suggested recipes for it.
6. Save food onlineThere are also online ways to save food from being thrown away. On food-sharing websites, for example, you can find out where you can pick up leftover groceries in your city for free. If you have a large harvest, you can also give them away yourself via these platforms. Apps like Too good to go also show which restaurants, snack bars, bakeries, etc. nearby have leftovers. These can then be purchased and collected for a fraction of the original price. At sirplus.de you can order rescued food online at very reasonable prices. The company Etepetete is also committed to dealing with food more responsibly and offers boxes with fruit and vegetables that do not meet the standard visually and have been sorted out. And if you are not put off by expired best-before dates, you can look for supermarkets in your city that sell expired but still edible food at low prices.
It doesn't always have to be large companies, smaller organizations and private individuals are also actively fighting food waste.
The Federal Center for Nutrition provides more information on the subject of food waste and other tips.