In a bid to help customers cut down on food waste, Sainsbury’s is giving families fridges installed with small cameras so that customers are able to see what they have in their fridge when they shop.
By giving 20 families a ‘smart fridge’ each, the cameras take a picture every time the door is closed, before sending them to an iPhone application.
This means that customers can avoid ‘doubling up’ on items when they are out.
After conducting research, Sainsbury’s found that a quarter of UK households waste £235 worth of food every single year simply by buying foods that they already have stocked in the fridge.
This amounts to £1.5 billion of wasted food every year across the country.
According to the supermarket chain, short-life consumables such as fruit and veg are the most overbought items, with 38% of shoppers regularly buying more food than necessary.
The supermarket also claimed that 70 per cent of people check their fridge before leaving their home but more than half forget what they need when they are out.
Others also buy ‘top up food’ on their way home from work but find that the items are unnecessary once that they arrive.
Pete Crewe, head of sustainability at Sainsbury’s said:
Our customers tell us that despite best intentions, they often find it difficult to remember what is in their fridge, which can lead to them over-buying.
“With 4.2 million tonnes of food wasted each year in the UK we’re on a mission to help households plan their shopping better and reduce the amount of food they throw away.
“With our focus on finding innovative solutions we have teamed up with Bosch to trial their unique camera fridge which will give shoppers an instant view of the contents of their fridge whilst shopping.”
The campaign is part of Sainsbury’s Waste Less, Save More initiative that was launched to the tune of £10 million in 2015.
