Publication date

April 2018Label betterless waste

Fresh pork, beef and lamb guidance

Produce ofHelping reduce consumer food waste through changes to products, packs, labels and retail

Label betterless waste

Visual guideThere are many considerations when deciding on pack design, label layout and content. This visual guide has been produced to help illustrate examples of how the recommendations in this guidance could look, be applied and, specifically, which labelling and design features are most effective in helping consumers reduce fresh pork, beef and lamb waste. These can be adapted to your organisation’s style (in design, wording and layout) and to take account of other factors, such as pack size and costs. The labelling recommendations in this guidance are consistent with those contained in the main labelling guidance document.

Front of pack

Back of pack

Split pack function makes it easier for the consumer to freeze and use the whole pack, or part-pack

Split pack function gives the consumer longer to use the meat (within the ‘Use By’ date). This is particularly useful where ‘Open Life’ is used on pack, becasue consumers can just open part of the pack and have more flexibility on when they use the rest

‘Use of icon makes it clear product can be frozen

Packaging design helps extend product life e.g. skin pack

Ingredients

Nutrition

Disposal

Heating Guidelines

5 400141 902389

Contact Info

Freephone0000 0000 000 7 days a weekEmailcustomerservice @shop.co.uk30

0g

Explaut labor sin (xx%), pro beature (xx%), doluptaquo expella (xx%), sa si ut ex eos velecte (xx%).

Typical Valuesper

100gper ½ pack

(400g)Average

adultper

portion

Energy Value 888 kJ 88888 kJ 88888 kJ 26%

kcal 888 kcal 888 kcal 8888 kJ

Fat 8.8g 88.8g High 88g 40%

(of which Saturates) 8.8g 88.8g High 88g 66%

Carbohydrates 8.8g 88.8g 888g 16%

(of which Sugars) 8.8g 8.8g Low 88g 11%

Fibre 8.8g 8.8g

Protein 8.8g 88.8g 88g 64%

Salt 8.8g 8.8g High 8g 39%

Reference intake of an average adult (6400kJ/2000kcal). Serves 2.

Appliances vary, these are guidelines only. Do not heat more than once.

Microwave

Temp. mark xxxx°C xxx°F

chilledXX mins

Fan Oven

Temp. mark 5XXX°C XXX°F

chilledXX mins

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur. • Adipiscing elit. Praesent rhoncus quam in. • Purus tristique, non rhoncus mauris congue.• Phasellus auctor tempor dui. In vel tortor dui.• Donec varius, massa eget rutrum facilisis.• Ipsum sem lobortis diam, id egestas metus.

THIS CONTAINER MAY SOFTEN SLIGHTLY BUT WILL REGAIN STRENGTH ON STANDING

Rinse before recycling.

SLEEVE - CARD widely recycled

TRAY - PLASTIC widely recycled

FILM - FILM not currently recycled

Suitable for

freezing

• Freeze by the date shown

• Best within X months of freezing

• Defrost thoroughly in the fridge before use

• Once defrosted, useimmediately/on the same day

• Do not re-freeze raw meat

• This pack splits in two! You can freeze or use each half separately

• Once cooked, this chicken can be frozen, even if previously frozen when raw

Freezing

At homestore

below 5ºC

• At home, keep in the original packaging and store in the fridge, below 5ºC to keep fresher for longer

Storage

Ingredients

Nutrition

Disposal

Heating Guidelines

5 400141 902389

Contact Info

Freephone0000 0000 000 7 days a weekEmailcustomerservice @shop.co.uk30

0gExplaut labor sin (xx%), pro beature (xx%), doluptaquo expella (xx%), sa si ut ex eos velecte (xx%).

Typical Valuesper

100gper ½ pack

(400g)Average

adultper

portion

Energy Value 888 kJ 88888 kJ 88888 kJ 26%

kcal 888 kcal 888 kcal 8888 kJ

Fat 8.8g 88.8g High 88g 40%

(of which Saturates) 8.8g 88.8g High 88g 66%

Carbohydrates 8.8g 88.8g 888g 16%

(of which Sugars) 8.8g 8.8g Low 88g 11%

Fibre 8.8g 8.8g

Protein 8.8g 88.8g 88g 64%

Salt 8.8g 8.8g High 8g 39%

Reference intake of an average adult (6400kJ/2000kcal). Serves 2.

Appliances vary, these are guidelines only. Do not heat more than once.

Microwave

Temp. mark xxxx°C xxx°F

chilledXX mins

frozenXX mins

Fan Oven

Temp. mark 5XXX°C XXX°F

chilledXX mins

frozenXX mins

• Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur. • Adipiscing elit. Praesent rhoncus quam in. • Purus tristique, non rhoncus mauris congue.• Phasellus auctor tempor dui. In vel tortor dui.• Donec varius, massa eget rutrum facilisis.• Ipsum sem lobortis diam, id egestas metus.

THIS CONTAINER MAY SOFTEN SLIGHTLY BUT WILL REGAIN STRENGTH ON STANDING

Rinse before recycling.

SLEEVE - CARD widely recycled

TRAY - PLASTIC widely recycled

FILM - FILM not currently recycled

Suitable for

freezing

• Freeze by the date shown

• Best within X months of freezing

• Defrost thoroughly in the fridge before use

• Once defrosted, useimmediately/on the same day

• Do not re-freeze raw meat

• This pack splits in two! You can freeze or use each half separately

• Once opened, contents can still be frozen - following the instructions above

Freezing

At homestore

below 5ºC

• At home, keep in the original packaging and store in the fridge, below 5ºC to keep fresher for longer

Storage

2

2

‘Open Life’ only used when required and extended to maximum duration

On pack tips or consumer messaging can link to recipes or provenance information

Use of icon makes it easy for consumers to find information

Clearly shows that meat can be frozen before the ‘Use By’ date

Shows people how long they can store, and uses quality as the reason

Clear defrosting guidance and food safety covered

Helps people understand how the pack format and features benefit them

Shows part packs e.g. individual sausages, can still be frozen before the ‘Use By’ date. Any freezing requirements within ‘Open Life’ can also be displayed here

Sausages1 1

Steak1

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Top actions for consumer waste prevention

Put best practice freezing/defrosting use advice on pack

Remove ‘Open Life’ (‘Use within X days of opening’) guidance where the food safety risk is sufficiently covered by the ‘Use By’ date. Where ‘Open Life’ is still needed for food safety or quality, extend it to the maximum possible duration and use the correct wording

Make consumer food waste the focus of product, packaging and process innovations

Put recipe advice and motivational messaging on pack

Best practice freezing/ re-freezing advice1. Use the snowflake logo

with the wording ‘Suitable for freezing’ underneath – front of pack, where possible. This makes it much easier for the consumer to see, at-a-glance.

2. Provide clear freezing instructions:

• Use the snowflake logo again back of pack – to make it easy for the consumer to find the information.

• Make it clear that the product can be safely frozen, before the ‘Use By’ date.

• Do not use the words ‘Freeze on day of purchase’.

• Give an indication of how long the product can be frozen for, to maintain its quality, using advice such as ‘Best within X months of freezing’. Do not use, ‘Use within X months of freezing’, because this phrasing is for food safety limitations, rather than quality.

• Give clear defrosting and use guidance, to address food safety, such as, ‘Defrost fully in the fridge before use and cook within 24 hours, using the on-pack cooking instructions. Do not re-freeze raw meat.’

• Highlight any pack features that help make it easier to freeze the product.

• Make clear that part of the pack’s contents can be frozen, once opened.

A decision tree is available to help inform your approach

3. Help consumers understand when the product can be refrozen:

• ‘Meatcanberefrozenifithasfirstbeen cooked thoroughly.’

Suitable for freezing

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• ‘Open Life’ for quality reasons may be important for products such as those that have been vacuum packed or a have a modified atmosphere. In which case this should be extended as far as possible within the quality limitation and phrased – ‘Best within X days of opening and always by the Use By date.’

• Where ‘Open Life’ is needed in addition to the ‘Use By’ date for safety reasons, it is essential to include this information on-pack. In which case, ‘Open Life’ should be extended as far as possible within the safety limitation and phrased – ‘Use within X days of opening and always by the Use By date.’

Top actions for consumer waste prevention

Optimising use of ‘Open Life’ and associated information.1. Remove ‘Open Life’ (‘Use within X

days of opening ’) guidance where the food safety risk is sufficiently covered by the ‘Use By’ date. Where it is essential to use ‘Open Life’, use only the correct corresponding wording for ‘Open Life’ guidance:

• ‘Once opened, best within X days’ (where important for food quality).

• ‘Once opened, use within X days’ (only when required for food safety reasons).

• ‘Open Life’ may not be needed for products such as bacon, sausages and any meat packed in a tray that does not have a modified atmosphere.

Product, packaging and process innovations1. Where possible, provide split

packs or other portion solutions – particularly for products over 500g or which contain several servings. This gives people longer to use the product where ‘Open Life’ is used, and allows more flexibility in freezing and use for all products. This is particularly beneficial for sausages, sliced bacon, chops and cutlets.

2. Make a range of pack sizes available, and where possible minimise any difference in cost/kg. This is particularly beneficial for sausages, bacon slices, minced beef, and roasting joints.

3. Explore ways to extend product life – e.g. through the use of skin packs. This is particularly beneficial for fillets and joints and bacon slices and could be extended to other products too.

4. Extend the use of re-closable pack formats. This is particularly useful where it can enable an extension of any quality-related ‘Open Life’, e.g. for bacon and other suitable products.

5. Explore opportunities to use smart labels, e.g. to indicate a product is being stored at a low enough temperature to maintain quality and safety and extend product life.

6. Consider other ways of innovating, e.g. processing, supply chain or protocol innovations to add product life. Adding even 1 day’s life can reduce store waste, improve on shelf availability, and help reduce consumer waste.1 This innovation could extend total product life, or remove the need for a previously needed ‘Open Life’ limitation (quality or safety) or allow any ‘Open Life’ duration to be extended.

1 Reducing Food Waste by Extending Product Life, WRAP 2015 http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/reducing-food-waste-extending-product-life

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• Linking to recipes on-pack or online is ideal for using up cooked meat left over from roasting joints, e.g.

• ‘Lovely leftovers from Sunday lunch make for a magic Monday night curry or casserole’.

2. Provenance messaging:

• Research has found that consumers are drawn to messages relating to where food comes from and how it’s produced, making them think differently about what they are throwing away, e.g.

• ‘Feed, water and love go in – surely this [insert product name] is too good to bin? Why not use up the extra from dinner in this delicious recipe*?’

Recipe advice/motivational messaging

• Around one third of pork and beef products are thrown away because consumers have cooked too much.

• Consumers are known to respond well to easily accessible on-pack tips, so information that helps people use up leftovers would be particularly useful on whole joints.

1. Consider adding recipes or other consumer tips on larger packs e.g.

• ‘Sausages cooked now and the rest of the pack frozen for another time. It’s not silly’.

• ‘Freezing some of the pack for later is a perfect storage solution for sausages, sliced bacon, chops, cutlets and even mince’.

Pack material choices and designThere are also opportunities to improve the sustainability of the packaging itself by:

• Specifying recycled content in packaging.

• Specifying pack materials that are widely recyclable.

• Avoid the use of black plastic (or use detectable black plastic trays).

• Use the corresponding on-pack recycling logo – www.oprl.org.uk/

• FSA also advise using the wording on-pack, ‘carefully rinse packaging and wash hands.’

* links to recipe

Top actions for consumer waste prevention

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Consumer insights and evidence - Pork

Evidence on consumer waste at home2

Consumer insights A recent FSA consumer survey found that guidance on freezing is the biggest information need and very few people re-freeze meat that was originally a frozen product that was then cooked.3

WRAP focus panels have found that consumers respond well to ‘motivational’ messaging on the story of food.

Other key trends from WRAP’s consumer research are that:

• Single person householders waste 40% more than others and often report that they are unable to buy packs small enough for their needs; and

• Consumers value packaging innovations that improve convenience and make products last longer.4

UK consumers throw away:

146,000 tonnesof pork products a yearThis includes sausages (34,000 tonnes), sliced ham (22,000 tonnes), bacon (21,000 tonnes) and carcass meat (21,000 tonnes).

99,000 tonnesof it is edible food – not bones etc, which equals 12% of purchases.

1/5 was thrown awayunopened or in nearly full packs - much more than for other foods.

2 Household Food & Drink Waste – A Product Focus, WRAP 2014

3 https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/food- waste- survey.pdf

4 http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/food- packaging- perception- and- reality

Reasons for not using pork purchases

Not used in time (date code) 31%

Not used in time (not date code) 17%

Cooked/served too much 31%

Fussy eating 9%

Accidents 6%

Other 7%

Figures rounded up

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Reasons for not using beef purchases

Not used in time (date code) 23%

Not used in time (not date code) 6%

Cooked/served too much 35%

Fussy eating 15%

Accidents 19%

Other 2%

Figures rounded up

Evidence on consumer waste at home2

UK consumers throw away:

56,000 tonnesof beef products a year.This includes mince, steak, joints, etc. (specificproductbreakdownnotavailable).

34,000 tonnesof it is edible food – not bones etc, which equals 8% of purchases.

17% was packaged when thrown away (more than other food types).

Most was thrown away in larger instances, e.g. >400g.

Consumer insights and evidence - Beef

Consumer insights A recent FSA consumer survey found that guidance on freezing is the biggest information need and very few people re-freeze meat that was originally a frozen product that was then cooked.3

WRAP focus panels have found that consumers respond well to ‘motivational’ messaging on the story of food.

Other key trends from WRAP’s consumer research are that:

• Single person householders waste 40% more than others and often report that they are unable to buy packs small enough for their needs; and

• Consumers value packaging innovations that improve convenience and make products last longer.4

2 Household Food & Drink Waste – A Product Focus, WRAP 2014

3 https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/food- waste- survey.pdf

4 http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/food- packaging- perception- and- reality

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