9-9-2014 | A waste management company has found through its own research that over 99 percent of bagged salads given away by takeaway food establishments are never eaten, with many thrown into waste bins unopened.
“We tried to find out who eats these salads, and we found literally nobody prepared to confess that they did,” says BusinessWaste.co.uk spokesman Mark Hall, “In our opinion, they’re nothing but a huge waste of food. Thousands of tons going to waste.”
BusinessWaste.co.uk asked hundreds (1459 people were involved in the survey) of takeaway food customers at several locations in the UK what they did with free salads given away as an accompaniment to curries or kebabs.
- 56% throw it in the bin without opening
- 30% put it in the fridge, and throw it away later
- 14% leave it in the shop or give it back to the delivery person
- 0% eat it
BusinessWaste.co.uk puts the reluctance of many people to eat salads from takeaways down to the mistaken perception that there’s probably something wrong with it, or that it has been prepared in an unhygienic kitchen. However, that reason is the one most heard by BusinessWaste.co.uk when it asked customers why they avoided takeaway salads:
- “I don’t know where it’s been.”
- “I’ve been told that it’s dirty.” / “… it’s out of date.” / “…they don’t wash it.”
- “I might get food poisoning off it.” / “I heard somebody good food poisoning off it.”
- “I hate salad.”
“It’s a very simple solution,” says Hall, “And one that will save food establishments money and puts and end to the thousands of tons of food wasted every year…
“We’re all for getting your five-a-day,” says BusinessWaste.co.uk ‘s Mark Hall. “But in this case, our message is loud and clear – Say ‘NO’ to salad!”
Source: CIWM Journal