UK: Waitrose to sell “fallen” tomatoes in drive to combat waste

UK supermarket Waitrose has announced that it is begin selling tomatoes that have fallen from the vine or are misshapen in a drive to reduce food waste.

The retailer has launched the new initiative as part of its aim to reduce food wastage, noting that tomatoes are among the fresh foods most wasted by the industry and consumers.

Labelled “Limited Selection”, the tomatoes are being made available at 77 outlets across the UK in 1kg pack with a recommended price of £2.99. Bags are to contains a selection of round, cherry and baby plum tomatoes, with precise contents depending on what is seasonally available.

Peter Cooke, Waitrose's tomato buyer, commented: "When it comes to tomatoes there's absolutely no reason why beauty has to be skin deep. Every one of our mixed selection packs is different which, for me, is the real beauty of using tomatoes that wouldn't normally be offered in this way to customers."

The new launch follows previous successful launches of ‘imperfect’ product by Waitrose , including 'misshapen' strawberries and plums as well as weather-blemished apples.

Source: The Guardian