Ban 'Buy One Get One Free' offers
Many of the major chains have been offering special deals to entice families into stores during the recession.
The Liberal Democrats claim the offers persuade shoppers to buy extra food they do not really need – which eventually ends up in landfill sites – and should be ditched. But the removal of the deals would be a bitter blow to thousands of families struggling to pay for the weekly shop.
According to official figures, two thirds of all food thrown away is "avoidable" waste.
Of food sent dumped in landfill, nearly a third is fruit and vegetables while about a fifth is bread and cakes. Meat and fish which has not even been cooked is also thrown away while thousands of unwanted ready meals are also tossed into the bin.
Last night Lib-Dem environment spokesman Tim Farron said supermarkets must accept the blame for the "staggering" levels of food waste.
But industry leaders insisted stores were not trying to get people to buy things they do not want or need and were a vital way of making limited incomes stretch further during the downturn.
The Waste Resources and Action Programme estimates that 6.7 million tonnes of household food waste is produced each year in the UK, most of which could have been eaten.
As well as wasting money it also a "major contributor" to the production of greenhouse gases in the UK. The government agency blames, in part, shoppers not planning their meals and a lack of planning when food shopping "buying more than is needed".
Mr Farron singled out "buy one, get one free" – or "Bogof" – offers for blame.
He said: "Given the current economic climate it's absolutely staggering that the UK throws away £10 billion worth of food every year, but what makes matters worse is that this waste is easily avoidable.
"Supermarket deals offering two for the price of one have encouraged shoppers into bulk buying more than they need, which often means the leftovers are simply thrown away.
"Supermarkets must accept their share of the blame for such wasteful levels of over-shopping and bring an immediate end to all 'bogof' deals in their stores.
"Instead of trying to tempt shoppers with cheap 'credit-crunch' multi-deals, supermarkets should use the money they would save from scrapping these deals to cut prices across the board and help make the weekly shop cheaper for families across the UK.
"After all, it is not supermarkets who fund these cheap deals – it is farmers, growers and other producers who are forced to produce twice as much for the same price."
The British Retail Consortium insisted the deals were a way of stores selling excess stock, which boosted quality elsewhere. "Promotions are all about offering customers the best possible value and enticing them into your particular shop rather than competitor's – it's not about trying to encourage people to buy more than they need," it said.
"The reason for using promotions rather than across-the-board price cuts is they're often linked to seasonal surpluses of fresh fruit and vegetables which is about encouraging people to consume more of a given product at a given time, when it happens to be available. That means customers are offered extra quality and it's also playing a part in the healthy eating agenda by encouraging more consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables."
Moneysaving expert Martin Lewis recommends people only use "Bogof" offers if they are "on a good that won't go off that you'd buy anyway", such as toothpaste or toilet rolls.
