Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2014-06-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with food suppliers to encourage them to reduce excess packaging; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson

The Secretary of State has not had recent discussions with food suppliers specifically about packaging. I spoke at the Fresher for Longer conference in February this year, and the Government is working with food manufacturers and retailers to reduce food waste as part of the Courtauld Commitment, which is targeting a further reduction of 1.1 million tonnes of food and packaging waste by 2015. We encourage the use of a minimum level of packaging that protects products from damage and ensures that it maintains its quality during its shelf life.