BEFORE YOU SHOP
Plan around what you have
Start the week's plan with what is already in the fridge, then write the shopping list from the plan.
See the numbersMost of the food thrown away in UK homes could have been eaten.
Households binned 6.0 million tonnes of food and drink in 2022. The biggest single reason was simply not using it in time. A short weekly plan, the right date label and a well-used freezer go a long way. Here is the evidence, in plain English.
Plain English, with the sources linked.
Updated
See why food gets binnedTHE SHORT ANSWER
Plan from the fridge.
Nearly 40% of edible food wasted at home
is binned because it was not used in time.
AFTER YOU COOK
Cook once, freeze portions
The freezer is a pause button: freeze leftovers you will not eat within two days.
Freezer facts
ON THE LABEL
Read the date right
Use-by is about safety; best before is about quality. Plan use-by foods early in the week.
Labels explainedWHY IT GETS BINNED
Why does food
end up in the bin?
Pick a reason to see its share of the edible food wasted in UK homes, and what a plan can do about it. The shares come from WRAP's report on household food and drink waste in 2022.
These are the three main reasons WRAP reports. Together they cover most, but not all, of the edible food wasted at home.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Small habits,
real money.
The cost lands in the shopping basket,
and the fix often starts in the fridge.
£1,000 a year
Edible food wasted, household of four
WRAP puts the value of edible food wasted in UK homes at £17 billion, around £1,000 a year for an average household of four.
THE COST · 2022
7°C vs 0–5°C
Average fridge against advice
The Food Standards Agency advises a fridge between 0 and 5°C. WRAP has reported that the average UK fridge runs at around 7°C, warmer than that advice.
THE FRIDGE · UK
Neither number needs special equipment to change: a written plan, a shopping list and a fridge thermometer are enough to start.
PLAN THIS WEEK
Four habits
for a lighter bin.
Shop the fridge first
Before planning, look at what needs eating soon. Put meals that use it, and anything with a use-by date, early in the week.
Write the list from the plan
Turn the week's meals into a shopping list so you buy only what the plan needs, not what looks tempting on the shelf.
Plan a leftovers night
Cooking too much is a quarter of the problem. Pencil in one evening for leftovers, eaten within two days of cooking.
Freeze before the date
If a planned meal falls through, freeze the ingredients on or before the use-by date, and write what it is and when on the container.
FOOD WASTE FACTS
Five things worth
planning around.
88 kg per person, every year
UK homes wasted 6.0 million tonnes of food and drink in 2022, WRAP estimates: around 210 kg per household, or 88 kg per person.
Nearly three quarters was edible
About 4.4 million tonnes, or 73%, was food that could have been eaten, such as bread, meat and the edible parts of fruit and vegetables.
Potatoes, leftovers and bread top the list
WRAP's 2023 update named potatoes, cooked leftovers and bread as the most wasted foods in UK homes.
Freeze right up to the use-by
The Food Standards Agency says you can freeze food up until midnight on its use-by date. Keep the freezer at around -18°C and use defrosted food within 24 hours.
Frozen food still has a best-by window
For quality, the agency suggests eating frozen meat within 2 to 3 months, and baked goods, fruit and vegetables within 3 to 4 months. Label what you freeze.
QUICK QUESTIONS
Food waste, answered.
Short answers to the questions people ask most.
How much food does a UK household throw away?
WRAP estimates that UK homes wasted 6.0 million tonnes of food and drink in 2022, around 210 kg per household or 88 kg per person a year. About 73% of it was edible, worth around £1,000 a year to an average household of four.
What is the difference between use-by and best before?
Use-by dates are about safety: food can be unsafe to eat after them. Best before dates are about quality: after them food is usually safe but may not be at its best, so you can use sight, smell and taste to decide.
How long can I keep leftovers in the fridge?
The Food Standards Agency advises cooling cooked food and putting it in the fridge within one to two hours, then eating leftovers within 48 hours, or freezing them if you will not manage that.
What temperature should my fridge be?
The Food Standards Agency says between 0 and 5°C, checked with a fridge thermometer about once a week. WRAP has reported that the average UK fridge runs at around 7°C, warmer than it should be.
Can I freeze food on its use-by date?
Yes. The Food Standards Agency says you can freeze food right up until midnight on the use-by date. Once it has fully defrosted, use it within 24 hours.
Sources
Where the facts come from
- Household food and drink waste in the United Kingdom 2022WRAP, 2025
- Urgent action needed at scale to tackle food waste in our homesWRAP, November 2023
- Understanding food labelling: best before and use-by datesGOV.UK
- How to chill, freeze and defrost food safelyFood Standards Agency
- Making food last longerWRAP, 2020
- The potential for saving food waste by lowering home refrigerator temperatures (Evans et al.)London South Bank University, 2013
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