Stop food from being wasted

In an ideal world a variety of food would be available at an affordable cost and nothing would go to waste.
But in reality, millions of dollars' worth of food is thrown out in New Zealand each year.
With an increase in food prices, Western Bay residents are being urged to make smarter choices when it comes to buying, storing and disposing of food, which will in turn minimise the cost of wasted food.
Tauranga Budget Advisory Service manager Marjorie Iliffe said increased food prices made it difficult for ordinary families to make ends meet and people needed to make "smarter choices" about their food.
"I would always suggest making a list, that's the absolute first thing I would recommend to do before you go shopping," she said.
"Even the act of writing it down will help and if you forget it, it's already gelled in your head."
Mrs Iliffe said if people really wanted to minimise their waste, they should put their leftovers into containers and have them the following day or freeze them for a future meal.
"The freezer is an absolute blessing ... and if you've got leftovers, you can fry up potatoes or cut up your veges and make it into a stirfry or soup."
She said another idea was to put leafy waste into a compost bin and bury it in the garden.
Tauranga celebrity chef Peter Blakeway said people often forgot what was in their cupboards and fridges and had to throw away food as a result.
He said people often wasted food items by buying more than they needed, tempted by specials at supermarkets.
"When you see a special sign of six for the price of four, then you'll end up buying six items but that's a waste when you only went in for two items."
When it came to best-before dates, Mr Blakeway said he would not risk compromising quality and would not use products after their best-before dates.
He said while the products might still be edible, the best-before date deserved to be acknowledged. "In a commercial sense a best-before date is exactly that and I won't take the risk of using them ... but at home, I think people can be a little more lenient. I think people really need to be aware of what's in their fridge and rotate their stock so they use the older stuff first."
To further help minimise the amount of food waste, Mr Blakeway suggested going through the fridge once a week and getting the vegetables that were "looking a little tired" and combining them into a soup. He also suggested freezing any leftover food andreducing the amount spent on takeaways.
"In New Zealand we waste about one-third of what we buy and with a little bit of forethought then that figure can be minimised."
Charlie Self, one of the owners of Cafe Botannix, said the business was conscious of reducing its carbon footprint and adopted a number of eco-friendly practices.
"One thing we do is give away our coffee grinds to customers, it's a way of recycling and it's good for the garden," Mr Self said.
The cafe also had a pig scrap bin and a worm farm, where much of the green waste was disposed, Mr Self said. The cafe gives discounts to customers who bring a takeaway coffee cup.
"To be honest [being economical is] not hard, it's quite logical and most of it comes pretty easily. You just have to change your patterns and instead of putting the coffee grinds into the rubbish, we put them in a bin by the front door. Little things like that make a difference. And these things people can do at home too," Mr Self said.
Chef and owner of Mount Bistro Stephen Barry said it was essential to have a variety of basic ingredients in the pantry or fridge that could be used in a variety of ways. Make sure food is secured and stored properly.
"If you've got too much air in a container then the food will oxidise and go off, so put food in smaller containers."
For more information on basic food knowledge and planning skills go to www.foodinfo.org.nz.