Tesco to trial giving expiring food away to shoppers

Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain, plans to launch a trial offering soon-to-expire food to customers for free at the end of each business day, aiming to reduce food waste. This initiative reflects a growing concern about food waste within the retail sector.

In the coming months, Tesco will pilot the program in select smaller Express convenience stores, giving away discounted "yellow sticker" items for free after 9:30 p.m. Previously, Tesco has donated soon-to-expire food to charities and food banks. The company states that this move is to achieve its goal of halving food waste, further solidifying their commitment to environmental sustainability.

Tesco stated that soon-to-expire food will first be offered to charities and employees before being made available to customers. A spokesperson said the trial will begin in a small number of Express convenience stores in the UK, but the specific locations and start date have not yet been announced. They added, "This trial will allow customers to pick up any remaining yellow sticker items for free at the end of the day, provided these items have first been offered to charities and colleagues," clarifying the order of distribution.

All major UK supermarket chains partner with charities to donate surplus food. The four largest supermarkets after Tesco—Sainsbury's, Asda, Aldi, and Morrisons—have also pledged to halve food waste by 2030. Aldi claims to have already achieved this target. Many supermarkets also offer significant discounts on soon-to-expire food. However, Tesco's trial appears to be the first policy in the UK directly targeting customers, setting a potential precedent for other retailers.

As part of its net-zero emissions plan, the company aims to reduce food waste by 50% this year. As of last February, the company claimed to have reduced food waste by 45% since 2017. However, after reports showed that a contractor had been using some of the waste to generate natural gas and burn it for energy, the company was forced to revise the figure to 18%, highlighting the complexities of accurately measuring and managing waste reduction efforts.

Inflation and rising living costs mean that staple foods such as meat, eggs, butter, and cereals are more expensive than a year ago, and households also face higher energy and water bills later this year. In 2022/2023, more than 7 million people in the UK, or 11% of the population, were in "food insecure households"—meaning people had to skip meals or go a day without food because they couldn't afford it. Data from the UK Department for Work and Pensions shows that this is an increase of 2 million people from the previous year. More people have also turned to food banks recently. The Trussell Trust food bank reported more than 1.4 million new users in the past two years. Tesco's share price fell slightly by 0.5% on Thursday, reflecting the complex interplay of factors affecting the retail landscape.