Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Food Waste

Thursday 13 November 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Too Good To Go and Winnow Solutions are two companies in Hackney South and Shoreditch focused on reducing food waste.
  • The Government supports these companies and aims to halve food waste by 2030.
  • Digital waste tracking will become mandatory for waste receivers starting in October 2026.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Meg Hillier Labour (Co-op) Hackney South and Shoreditch
Climate Environment
Context

The MP highlighted two food waste businesses in her constituency, Too Good To Go and Winnow Solutions, which have shown that tackling food waste can save businesses money. She questioned whether the government is considering mandatory reporting of food waste.

Question

Too Good To Go and Winnow Solutions are two food waste businesses in my constituency at the heart of tackling food waste. I know that the Government do not want to put more burdens on business, but the companies I mention have proved that tackling food waste can save businesses’ bottom line. Is the Minister considering mandatory reporting of food waste, and promoting companies that help other businesses to tackle food waste?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)

Those are two absolutely brilliant green tech companies at the heart of my hon. Friend’s constituency. We are committed to halving food waste by 2030, and we support both those companies. Digital waste tracking will be in place from April 2026, and will be mandatory from October for waste receivers. That is part of tackling the organised crime end of things. Our circular economy taskforce is considering how we can go further and the potential benefits of a mandatory food waste reporting requirement for large food businesses.

Answered
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Q2 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
Agriculture & Rural Affairs Environment
Context

The MP recalled the practice of not throwing away food and mentioned that 'best before' dates encourage people to throw out good food unnecessarily. He asked whether there has been consideration to make these dates law.

Question

Mr Speaker, you and I—and many others in this House—will remember that when we were younger, nothing was ever thrown out. When the cheese had blue mould, we cut off the edges and ate it. If food was coming near to the end of its time, the dog got it. Nothing was ever wasted. “Best before” dates on fresh food encourage judgment to be exercised before food is thrown out. Has consideration been given to making them law, to ensure that we do not throw away good food for no other reason than the date, which has no relevance to the quality of the food?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)

To be fair, the previous Government did something on food labelling and “best before” dates. There are certain rules around items such as eggs, about which we have to be much more careful. However, I share the hon. Gentleman’s view. We need to remove some of the packaging, so that people do not over-buy. We also need to teach people more about how to tackle food waste in their home, so that they do not buy more than they need, and they understand that they can freeze things like butter and cheese when they want to buy in bulk and save money.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not address whether 'best before' dates should be made a legal requirement.

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