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Reducing Food Wastage, Part 2 |
23-10-2007
REDUCING FOOD WASTAGE (PART 2)
BY WONG EE LYNN
Practical steps to reduce food wastage at home:
1. Check what you already have in your fridge and cupboards before going shopping. So for instance, if you already have some fresh vegetables, then use these up first before buying any more vegetables.
2. Ignore the advertising carried out by supermarkets to tempt us all to buy more and buy in bulk. Remember that the 30% of food you waste is helping them make huge profits at your expense.
3. If you carry out a weekly shopping trip, then plan your food menu for the week and only buy accordingly. Stick to the menu and plan it well. For instance, carrots and pumpkin last longer than greens and bean sprouts, so use your greens up earlier in the week.
4. Resist any special offers and don't buy anything you wouldn't eat. Generic brands may be cheaper, but if it tastes horrible and no one wants to eat it, it will still go to waste.
5. Avoid going food shopping with children and don't give in to their demands for highly packaged cereal, junk food and fast food that comes with toys.
6. Use leftovers creatively. Vegetables that are too bruised or withered for salad may still be good in soups, stir-frys and fried rice. Many fish and meat-based leftovers such as sausage or burger meat can be reheated and used in fried rice, noodles, sandwiches and pasta, or as pizza topping. Slightly stale bread can be used for French toast or in bread pudding. Half-finished boxes of festive candy can be used to decorate cakes and cookies. Fresh fruit can be made into jam or pie filling.
7. Ensure that the temperature thermostat in your fridge is set correctly so that fresh produce does not go bad.
8. If you buy ready-to-eat meals, such as fish-n-chips from the supermarket, then make sure they are the right size for you and nothing will be wasted afterwards.
9. Make sure you use up all your instant meals and not change your mind about eating them once they are in your kitchen.
10. On an ongoing basis, keep an eye on what is being wasted in your kitchen and what you can do to cut it out completely. An estimated 60% of food that is dumped is expired food. Therefore, keep close tabs of what you have in the fridge and cabinets. Check them each month and use up
food before they go bad.
11. Eat more healthy foods – and you will find you eat less anyway. An MNS member reported that after switching to organic greens, the family found it too costly to waste vegetables and so all of the vegetables were consumed.
12. Compost your food waste to reduce the amount of waste going into our landfills. Teabags, fruit and uncooked vegetables can go into your compost pile. Cooked foods contain oils that are difficult to break down, may contaminate your compost pile and may attract flies and other disease vectors, so do not mix these food wastes into your compost.
13. Read your labels and handle and store your food properly. Most sauces, condiments and drink concentrates have to be refrigerated after opening. Some have to be used up within a certain time after opening. Canned food has to be transferred to another container, preferably glass, as it is dangerous to leave food in opened tins. Exposed tin will oxidise and change the chemical composition of its contents, thus making your food toxic. Store food in airtight containers to reduce the risk of contamination.
14. Biscuits can lose their crispness if stored too long, even in airtight containers and tins. Try adding a clean piece of coal, a carbon-based fridge deodoriser, silicone dehumidifier packets from your vitamin bottles or sugar lumps in the tin. The above items act as dehumidifiers and will draw moisture away from the biscuits. Alternatively, you can keep them fresh and crunchy by storing them in the refrigerator if you have the space. This does not create a strain on the refrigerator but instead, conserves energy, as the refrigerated food keeps the temperature constant and there is now less empty space to keep refrigerated.
15. Cut down on your grocery shopping trips. If you shop on a weekly basis, try shopping only once in 2 weeks. This will cut down on your fuel costs, the number of plastic bags used and will compel you to use up food items in your refrigerator and pantry before buying more. Don't forget that many of us make impromptu purchases while shopping, so reducing your trips will also reduce unnecessary purchases.
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