A new juice range has been created to make use of ‘ugly’ fruit and veg that would otherwise go to waste.
Waste Not, which has been created by two of Tesco’s major produce suppliers, uses apples, beetroot, strawberries and watermelons that fail to meet produce specification. It is estimated that two fifths of ‘ugly’ fruit and veg is rejected by supermarkets in the UK for not meeting certain standards.
The Waste Not range will be sold in 350 Tesco stores across the UK and costs £2 for a 250ml bottle. Within the first 12 weeks of going on sale, these juices are expected to save around 3.5 tonnes of wasted fruit and vegetables.
Mike Bullock, director at Waste Not, told HuffPost UK: “Food waste is such a big issue and we really wanted to address it somehow. It is shocking how much produce doesn’t make it onto shelves just because of the way it looks.”
Jo Batty, a fruit buyer at Tesco said juicing offers “imperfect fruit and vegetables a second chance”.
This is another step forward for how supermarkets deal with fruit and vegetables that don’t pass the aesthetics test. Tesco launched their ‘Practically Imperfect’ range of wonky vegetables back in 2016. Asda and Morrisons also released similar ranges.
Other projects are also trying to get the most out of our food waste. Rubies in the Rubble use wasted fruit and veg to make delicious chutneys, while cosmetics brand Fru are turning fruit waste into vegan lip balms.
“Supermarkets cause farmers to waste colossal amounts of perfectly good fruit and veg because it doesn’t meet their strict cosmetic standards,” Tristram Stuart, a food waste campaigner, told HuffPost UK. “Waste Not is a welcome addition to a thriving family of enterprises seeking to convert the 1.4 billion tonnes of food wasted worldwide annually into food and drink.”