M&S caught throwing away food

Marks and Spencer is under fire after a horrified shopper caught staff at its brand-new Bradford store throwing away trolley-loads of food.

Natalia Glover says that when she saw the food - which included fresh fish, chicken, fruit and vegetables - being removed from the shelves, she asked if it was being reduced.

But, she says, she was told it was going in the bin, as staff had been ordered not to reduce prices for the first two weeks the store was open.

"Shocked, I continued shopping to come across at least another five trolleys the same!" she says. "What a complete waste of good food that people without could have!"

Natalia's photos of the waste have been shared nearly 5,000 times on Facebook.

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Marks and Spencer hasn't explained why the food couldn't be given to the needy, but says it has good reasons for not discounting prices during the first couple of weeks a store is open.

"All our stores discount food as it approaches its use-by date, the only exception is the first two weeks of a new store opening," a spokesperson told ITV's Calendar programme.

"This enables our systems to better record and understand demand in that particular store, so we can accurately send the right amount of food in the future, reducing waste significantly over time."

In general, M&S either passes food on to charities or sends it to an energy-generating anaerobic digester.

Earlier this month, High Fearnley-Whittingstall took to the TV to highlight supermarket waste in a BBC programme, Hugh's War on Waste.

And he's not a fan of anaerobic digesters.

"When we know there are hungry people, the idea of making electricity out of food when we could be feeding people, feels wrong," he tells the Guardian.

"But actually scientifically it's the wrong thing to do, because the energy recovery from AD is pathetic, compared to the energy recovered by people eating food."

And while France, for instance, is working to ban supermarkets from throwing away unsold food, the UK lags far behind. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the UK is the worst offender in Europe for food waste.

Between them, Asda, the Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose got rid of 200,000 tonnes of food in 2013.

Morrisons, though, has recently announced plans to give away all discarded food that's safe to eat to local community projects.

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The subtle manipulation starts as soon as you enter the store when you are assailed by the smell of flowers and fresh bread, which are often placed near the door. The smell is intended to put you in a good mood and to get your salivary glands working. You are also more likely to pick up these higher-ticket items when your cart is empty.

Similarly, fresh produce like fruit and vegetables (one of the most profitable sections at the supermarket) is also usually at the front because the bright colours are more likely to lift your mood than bland cartons and cans. Mist is sometimes sprayed on the fruit and veg to make them look fresh but can actually make them rot faster.