YELLOW sticker bargains can save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop – but fail to eat the items fast and you can end up wasting your money instead.
Food waste is an epidemic across the UK, with climate action NGO WRAP estimating around 10.7million tonnes of food was binned in 2021.
Of that figure, 60% came from households chucking away out of date items, from meat to fresh fruit and veg.
Yellow sticker bargains are one way of reducing the damage done, with supermarkets adding them to produce that is slightly damaged or coming up to its expiration date.
This is a great way to save money if you’re able to eat the food quickly.
Ele Clark, retail editor at consumer champion Which?, said: “Supermarkets often have an area dedicated to yellow-stickered products – or red at Aldi.
“It is always worth keeping an eye out for yellow sticker reductions as there can be substantial savings to be had.
“Also consider what items can be frozen if you don’t think you will eat it on the day of purchase.”
Earlier this year, we revealed how one savvy saver saved around £200 on her food bill in one year by buying yellow sticker bargains where possible.
However, you can find you’re throwing away gone off items if you leave them for a few days – and then you’ve wasted your money.
However, there are ways to lengthen their lifespan and save yourself hundreds of pounds a year.
We spoke to experts across the industry to find out how you can keep kitchen staples fresher for longer to save you money.
Bread is a common yellow sticker product on offer at most supermarkets and is a daily essential for many.
Dean Hartper, chef and director at Harper Fine Dining, said the best way to keep bread fresh is to store it in a bread bin made from natural materials like wood or clay.
“These allow the bread to braethe while controlling humidity, which extends its life without drying it out,” he explained.
Jason Webb, managing director of Electronic Temperature Instruments, said it should never be stored in the fridge.
“Bread is one of the top five items most commonly wasted,” he said.
“It should always be stored in a cupboard – if you put it in a fridge, it will stale about six times more quickly because at cooler temperatures, starch tends to crystallise and this process occurs roughly six times faster at refrigerator temperatures than at room temperature.”
Potatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables in a chef’s arsenal, but there are plenty of mistakes to be made when it comes to storing them.
Vlatka Lake, storage expert at Space Station, explained: “Potatoes keep the longest when stored in a cool, dry, dark place as exposure to moisture and light can lead to rotting.
“Ideal locations include basements or airy cupboards and pantries.
“The same goes for other root vegetables such as turnips
and storing them this way ensures they’ll be good for weeks, or possibly all season long.
“Unlike many other vegetables, they also need to be well-ventilated to prevent premature rotting, so avoid any airtight containers, instead opting for sufficiently perforated bags or baskets.”
Meanwhile, Sophie Trueman, managing director at Too Good to Go, said your spuds should be kept away from onions at all costs.
“Onions can make root vegetables go bad quickly, so it’s better to keep potatoes alongside things like pumpkins or squash in a cool, dark place (often in a paper bag works well) to preserve freshness,” she said.
“A better companion for onions is garlic as they can be stored near each other without ripening or spoiling. Just make sure it’s in a well-ventilated space, and that the skin of the garlic stays intact.”
Avocados are all the rage and a weekend brunch staple, but how to keep them fresh can be a bit of a mystery.
And it depends on what state they’ve been left in.
Kirstie Jones, head of client services and environmental health expert at Navitas Safety, said: “If you’re trying to make them last a little longer, it’s best to keep them in a warmer part of the fridge: not the quick chill draw.
“If the temperatures are too cold, the quality of the avocado can deteriorate.
“If you need to store half an avocado, keep it covered in the fridge and consume in a day or two.”
Bananas are a huge culprit for food waste because they ripen so quickly, particularly when stored in bunches.
To avoid this, separate them and wrap each one individually using baking parchment.
Sophie, from Too Good to Go, explained: “Bananas release a ripening agent called ethylene into the air, and so by wrapping a banana’s stem you can slow this process down.”
If you’ve got any bananas in your fruit bowl and don’t want them ripening any quicker, keep them away from avocados too.
Sophie added: “As one of the fruits that gives off ethylene, bananas are the perfect partner for hard, unripe avocados.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:
Odd boxes – plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.
Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.
Sainsbury’s also sells £2 “Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me” fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.
Food waste apps – food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.
Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.
Too Good to Go’s app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.
Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.
Yellow sticker bargains – yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.
But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.
Super cheap bargains – sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they’ve found on the cheap, including food finds.
“Downshift” – you will almost always save money going for a supermarket’s own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.
The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as “downshifting” and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
“By storing ripe bananas with unripe avocado, you can speed up the ripening process.”
Berries are the ideal accompaniment to your breakfast porridge, but they can go bad quicker than other fruits.
Sophie, from Too Good to Go, said it will be obvious when they are going off as they’ll sprout mould or change colour.
Bright cherries can turn from bright red to brown when they start to go off, for example.
To make them last longer, pop them in the freezer where they’ll last for months.
It’s well-known that eggs stay well for longer when put in the fridge – but there’s one particular place you won’t want to place them.
Jason, from Electronic Temperature Instruments, said: “Eggs are recommended to be stored within fridges at around four degrees Celsius to remain fresh and safe to consume.
“However, by storing eggs within frequently opened and closed fridge door storage trays, it can lead to a fluctuation and rise in temperature, accelerating egg spoilage.
“With this constant temperature disruption, eggs will rise in temperature away from the optimum four degrees Celsius, and if continuous, it can pose the risk of bacteria such as salmonella.”
And it turns out the same trick to keep eggs from lasting longer works for dairy too.
Vlatka, from Space Station, said: “We tend to store milk in the door of the fridge, but this area is prone to heat fluctuations, due to the constant opening and closing of the door.
“The very top of your refrigerator is the coolest place to store food products such as butter, cheese, and milk.
“If you house your butter in a butter dish on the side, place it in the fridge on those hotter days to stop it from spoiling.”
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