Co-op is introducing a ‘freeze me’ message to its own-brand milk products, in a bid to cut down on 70,000 tonnes of milk wasted a year.
Figures from UK’s leading sustainability experts WRAP, highlight that more than £150m worth of milk is discarded each year, with milk wasted in the home contributing to 90% of this. A recent survey shows that 66% of UK adults don’t freeze milk at home, 31% of UK adults didn’t know you can freeze milk, and of these 34% say that now they do they will start freezing it.
The new on-pack message from Co-op will read: “Don’t waste me, freeze me, in a suitable, clean container, then defrost in the fridge, use within 24 hours.”
Catherine Dishington, environment and sustainability manager at Co-op, said: “We’re committed to reducing our impact on the planet and we’re trying to help our customers and members make small changes that collectively, can make an impact.
“Freezing food is one of the easiest ways to make the most out of your weekly shop and prevent food wastage but not everyone knows that it’s perfectly safe to freeze milk. We hope that by having this message on pack it will not only save customers some money, it should also help them to throw away less.”
Estelle Herszenhorn, Strategic Technical Manager at WRAP, added: “It is fantastic to see Co-op, one of WRAP’s Courtauld 2030 signatories, adopting our best practice guidance by introducing freezing messaging to their own brand milk. Milk is one of the most wasted food products in the UK so this is a welcome move from the Co-op, demonstrating their commitment to helping people waste less.”
The new messaging will appear across all Co-op own brand milk products from September 2022.
