Tesco says it wraps single leeks in plastic to avoid ‘inadvertently creating food waste’

NewsConsumerThe supermarket said it didn’t want to compromise on qualityWednesday, 16th October 2019, 17:11 pmUpdated Wednesday, 16th October 2019, 17:12 pmTesco said the packaging is a trial (Photo: Hannah/Twitter)Tesco says it wraps single leeks in plastic to avoid “inadvertently creating food waste”.The supermarket was responding to a customer complaint after she spotted individually wrapped vegetables in her local store.Sign up to our daily newsletterThe i newsletter cut through the noiseHannah, who works in the charity sector and lives in London, said she found single leeks in plastic packaging and said she was left confused by the method.”I had to do a double-take when I saw the leeks in my local Tesco,” she said to i.”I couldn’t quite believe my eyes that there were solitary leeks wrapped in plastic.”Solitary leeksHannah asked Tesco why it felt single leeks in plastic would be an appropriate way of selling vegetables on Twitter.A spokesman replied: “We are trialling lots of opportunities to remove packaging and are removing packaging, where possible.”However, in lots of cases, this can lead to a compromise on quality and therefore we have to be careful not to inadvertently create food waste.”Hannah said she was quite dismayed by the company’s reason provided to her.”I’ve bought plenty of leeks that haven’t been wrapped in plastic, and the quality has been perfectly fine, so I fail to see how wrapping one leek will improve its quality or reduce food waste,” she said.Number of cut-backs”Then add on to this the fact we live in an age where we’re actively trying to reduce plastic use, I just really can’t understand how they thought this was a good idea.”While all supermarkets have been called out for excess waste in recent times, it is curious Tesco appears to have introduced a new packaging method that so rigorously counteracts the general theme.Across the industry, food retailers have been rolling out a number of cut-backs to help combat plastic use.Recently, Morrisons brought in string bags in grocery aisles, replacing polythene ones, while Waitrose removed plastic covers for bulk-buy canned goods.Tesco has not sat still, but appears more focused on food waste than plastic usage. Earlier this year, it committed to turning surplus bread into new food products. But as far as plastic goes, it seems to be a little way behind.i also contacted the supermarket for comment but received no response.


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