Tesco has revealed that its bakeries are turning surplus baguettes and batons into new bread products.
Baguettes and batons are among the UK’s most popular bread but also two foods which generate the most waste at the supermarket. Tesco is now seeking to reduce that figure by launching bread pudding and olive oil crostini lines made from any surplus.
The Olive Oil Crostini is made from in-store bakery white batons which are sliced, topped with extra virgin olive oil and then baked. Meanwhile, the Bread Pudding is made from surplus in-store bakery white baguettes and are broken into crumbs before having spices, sultanas and water added (see below).
The new bakery lines will initially be sold at 24 Tesco stores across the UK. The group stated that if the move is successful and the products are rolled out across its estate, it could mean about 40% of the in-store bakery baguette and baton waste being cut.
Tesco Bakery Category Director Gordon Gafa commented: “These new fresh bread pudding and crostini lines are made to classic recipes and using bread that’s been deemed surplus at the end of the day.
“We’re very proud of our record on tackling bread waste and this latest move follows other recent measures such as advising customers that they can freeze bread and also reducing the amount of bread we bake in our stores.”
According to food waste action charity WRAP, surplus bread is one of the biggest waste problems facing food retailers, particularly with freshly baked lines. In 2015, the group estimated that surplus bakery products account for nearly a third (67,500 tonnes) of the UK’s total retail food waste.
David Moon, Head of Business Collaboration at WRAP, said: “This initiative by Tesco is an excellent example of a simple solution to a common problem. Using surpluses in store to make a delicious new product saves good food from spoiling, and reduces the cost of waste to the business.”
Tesco has been at the forefront of food waste reduction with its recently published annual food waste data revealing 63% more food was redistributed to charities, community groups, staff and animal feed.
The retailer halved the amount of food safe for human consumption going to energy recovery compared to last year (51% decrease) and is now more than 80% of the way toward its target that no food safe for human consumption goes to waste.
Overall, this led to the amount of food going to waste in Tesco’s UK operations falling by 17% to 44,297 tonnes (0.45% sales) compared to the previous year.
NAM Implications:
- In effect, if successful, then this initiative could result in a 13.5% reduction in all UK food waste.
- Worth the support of those in complementary categories.
