Some Tesco Stores in the UK have launched a trial giving away food items nearing their expiration date for free to customers, but there are no plans to implement this initiative in Ireland.
The UK trial, which is currently limited to a small number of Tesco Express stores, allows customers to take any remaining “yellow stickered” items for free after 9:30pm. These discounted items are first offered to charities and staff before becoming available to customers at no cost.
When asked about potentially extending the scheme to Ireland, a spokesperson for Tesco Ireland confirmed it is a “small scale trial in the UK only” with no current plans for expansion to the Irish market.
The spokesperson noted that Tesco Ireland already has established systems in place for managing surplus food. “We work closely with both FoodCloud and Olio to donate perfectly edible surplus food from all our stores every evening,” the spokesperson said, referring to organizations that redistribute surplus food to charities and people in need.
“Any surplus food that’s not donated to charitable organisations is then offered free of charge to our colleagues,” they added.
According to The Journal, the supermarket chain highlighted its significant contribution to food redistribution efforts in Ireland, stating: “To date, we’ve donated the equivalent of over 20 million meals to over 350 community organisations across Ireland that support individuals and families in need.”
Tesco has committed to becoming carbon neutral across its operations by 2035 and throughout its entire supply chain by 2050, with food waste reduction being a key component of this sustainability strategy.
In the UK, a Tesco spokesperson described the trial as part of the company “constantly looking for innovative new ways to reduce food waste,” noting that all UK stores already offer unsold surplus food to charities and community groups.