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04/05/07 - STILTON CAMPAIGNS AGAINST WASTE

NEWS RELEASE

RESEARCH REVEALS THE SHOCKING AMOUNT OF FOOD WASTED EACH YEAR

• UK BINS 3.3 MILLION TONS OF EDIBLE PRODUCE EACH YEAR
• UP TO £23bn LOST EACH YEAR ON THROWN AWAY FOOD
• FOOD WASTAGE COSTS EACH UK HOUSEHOLD £885 EACH YEAR

Each year in Britain as much as 3.3 million tons of edible produce is binned, costing the British public an estimated £23bn a year* or  £885 per household.

These shocking figures have urged the SCMA (Stilton Cheese Maker’s Association) to start a campaign against food wastage, helping the UK public, where it is safe to do so, to recycle their leftovers.

In doing so, we can all save ourselves some money and create fantastic meals.

Food wastage is attributed to people’s eyes being bigger than their stomachs with millions misjudging portion sizes. Others simply overcompensate in order to keep hunger at bay.

Further research by the Food and Drink Federation indicates that 34% of the UK public ignore use-by dates and in doing so, run the risk of exposing themselves to food poisoning.

Top tips to reduce food wastage include:

• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail – don’t raid the supermarket without knowing what’s in your cupboards at home. With so many UK consumers ‘blanket’-buying goods already purchased, make a list and reduce the abundance.
• Stop the rot – keep a close check on your use-by dates. 60% of waste is binned as it has ‘gone off’. Keep tabs on what you have and when to use it by. Most cheese is safe to put back in the fridge even if it’s been out on a cheese board for a few hours. Just wrap each cheese individually, refrigerate and reuse asap.
• Cool it – 70% of our fridges are too hot! Food decomposes faster in an incorrectly chilled fridge; get the most out of your food by storing below 5 Celsius.
• Freeze it – many foods can be frozen and stored for months at a time. Stilton is one such food and if thoroughly wrapped preferably in foil, then defrosted slowly, will still taste delicious.
• SOS – Stick On the Stilton – and anything else for that matter. Stilton can be easily used in recipe dishes or added to convenience food to give extra flavour. Whether it is a Stilton soup, Stilton salad, Stilton Pizza or even sprinkling spare cheese on a burger. With so many delicious options, there is simply no need to waste unused foods, logon to www.stiltoncheese.com for more ideas.
• And if all else fails – pass it on to your flowers. At least 30% of an average household bin could be composted in the garden and in doing so reducing the volume of rubbish going to landfills and incinerators.

Diane Grant, a Home Economics /Community Studies lecturer from Liverpool John Moores University, comments, “The UK is one of the most wasteful countries in the world. Despite attempts by the government to promote recycling, food wastage is often overlooked. Although dumping most food may not be harmful to the environment, people do not realise the damage such wastage is having upon their wallets. This is especially so when entertaining, either in the household or for corporate events, as hosts overcompensate with party snacks and large portions in order to create a good impression.”

Nigel White, of the Stilton Cheese Makers Association, adds, “It’s shocking that so much perfectly good food is dumped due to ignorance or laziness. People simply don’t realise how to use up the good food they have left over and what combinations can be used to create fantastic tasting meals.

“Stilton and biscuits is a popular dinner party food and some people think they won’t use up any leftovers so simply throw it away. We aim to show how easy Stilton is to use in everyday cooking to add some extra taste and you don’t need to use much thanks to the product’s unique flavour.  That’s why we are suggesting tasty alternative recipes for people to try and ultimately reuse their unused food. Even the crust can be used with many top chefs including it within casseroles and beef & Stilton pies. Some pet owners even feed the crust to their dogs as a treat.”

The SCMA is running a campaign called ‘Stick on the Stilton’ to encourage consumers to add Stilton to simple meals such as burgers or sandwiches as well as to cook with it.