John Myers
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Tips against food waste: 4 ideas for a longer shelf life
Of course, when food goes bad, you have no choice but to throw it away. Unfortunately, that happens every now and then. But by storing it properly, you can extend the shelf life of many foods.
- Salads and potatoes will last longer if you wrap them in a slightly damp kitchen towel and store them in the fridge. Because the cloth absorbs the moisture from the lettuce, it doesn’t go moldy and wilt as quickly.
- Store meat, sausages, and fish at the bottom of the refrigerator. It is coldest there and the food lasts longer than in the upper compartments. You can find more tips in our chip practical tip for the correct storage of food in the refrigerator.
- Freeze food when you realize you won’t be able to use it up quickly. You can freeze bread (sliced ready to eat), butter and cream, cooked dishes, and much more. However, you must follow a few rules when freezing certain foods. Few foods are unsuitable for freezing.
- Check fruits and vegetables regularly for mold or rotten spots. Once the mold breaks out, it spreads quickly. If it is discovered and removed at an early stage, the other foods will be protected. After removing the mold, clean the surface or bowl with vinegar to remove any mold spores.
Less food waste when shopping: 4 ideas for more conscious choices
When shopping, you can save groceries by planning your purchases better (like using a grocery list app) and shopping a little more often than buying too many perishables at once.
- Don’t buy too many fresh groceries at once, but consider how much of it you can use in the next few days. Fruit, vegetables, meat, and similar fresh produce start to spoil after three to four days. Buy smaller quantities and go back to the store in a few days, or eat canned or frozen foods for the rest of the week.
- Give fruits and vegetables that don’t look perfect a chance. It still tastes good, and if no one takes it, it gets thrown away. Farmers sort out anyway. Anything that doesn’t look like a certain standard doesn’t even end up on the market but is immediately thrown away.
- If the packaging in the supermarket is too big for you to use up all of the contents, shop at the market or in bulk stores. There you can shop unpackaged and only take the amount you need with you.
- If you buy food that you want to use up completely in the next few days, consciously choose those products whose best-before date is about to expire. Because otherwise, it is very likely that nobody will buy them anymore and they will end up in the dumpster.
Saving food while eating: 2 suggestions against throwing it away
Fresh, tasty, and wholesome food often ends up in the trash simply because we’re not hungry or because it’s past its sell-by date. It doesn’t have to be.
- If you can’t make your portion at the restaurant, have the leftovers bagged up and eat at home the next day.
- Some people are embarrassed to have leftovers wrapped for fear of being perceived as stingy. Say goodbye to these thoughts. It’s just sustainable. If you also want to save on rubbish, bring your own can.
- Don’t throw away food just because it’s past its sell-by date. Because that doesn’t mean they’re already spoiled.
- Almost all foods are still edible shortly thereafter, some even months later. Unless a food item is obviously spoiled, always test it by smelling or tasting it before throwing it away.
