Focus on food waste

It is calling on them to embrace the 3Ds – Discount, Distribute and Dispose – and to improve back-of-house facilities in in-house kitchens, canteens and conference centres to reduce potential wastage at source.

Deputy chairman Neil Grundon said: "The provision of catering facilities is an area where high degrees of wastage can easily go unnoticed. A kitchen bin can hide a multitude of sins but by regulating what goes into it, you can discover a great deal about issues such as portion sizes, popularity of certain dishes, and the quality of the food being served.

"We believe the only items that should go into food waste should be returned meals, out-of-date food, or spoilt food, for example, if there has been a fridge or freezer failure, and we think companies need to do more to tackle the problem."

Grundon has introduced new 120 litre food waste bins which are designed to fit under-the-counter in food preparation areas. With a rounded bottom for easy cleaning and a clip-down non-spill sealed lid, these are lighter and easier to manoeuvre, while a weighing facility ensures simple reporting of food waste tonnage.