Marks & Spencer Binned Almost £10,000 Worth Of Food Which Should Have Gone To Charity
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Marks & Spencer has launched an investigation after it was reported that one of its stores binned almost £10,000 worth of food, which should have gone to charity.
Among the items to be thrown away by the Swiss Cottage branch, in north London, were burgers, whole chickens and fruit and vegetables, including 100 bags of carrots, many of which were reported to be within their use-by dates.
According to The Sun, seven wheelie bins, filled with 3,000 items of food, were throw into bin lorries, before the shop closed for Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
A source told the paper: "It's a disgrace so much was thrown out. It could still have been given to someone who needed it as some had two days left.
"It could have gone to feed some homeless people. There is a Salvatian Army centre just down the road."
Credit: PA
Ed Davey, a Liberal Democrat MP said throwing away the food 'when there are homeless people on the streets outside your shop is unacceptable'.
Marks & Spencer has a nationwide plan to redistribute its surplus and unsold food from its stores to local charities, so it's not known why this wasn't the case at Christmas.
A spokesperson from M&S told The Sun: "We have robust processes in place to minimise food waste.
"We are working hard to ensure that every piece of unsold food in our stores goes to those in need.
"Our stores work regularly with over 700 local food charities.
"We're looking into why this didn't happen at our Swiss Cottage store on this occasion."
Late last month, Jasmine Birtles, a finance expert, shared photos of piles of food destined to end up in the bin from M&S's Kensington High Street tube station store, calling it 'appalling'.
This is appalling. All this food - and more - is being thrown away at @marksandspencer Kensington High Street tube station. They're not allowed to give it away to the homeless or even passers-by. #wasteofmoney #wasteoffood #poverty #Hunger pic.twitter.com/Cq7XV4zurF
- Jasmine Birtles (@Jasmine) November 26, 2017
Hi Jasmine, thanks for Tweeting us. We have robust processes in place to minimise food waste and are working with more than 700 local charities to ensure where there is an edible food surplus, that it goes to help those in need. 1/3
- M&S (@marksandspencer) November 27, 2017
We're concerned this hasn't been followed on this occasion. Please be assured we're looking into this with the store as a matter of urgency and will be conducting a full investigation. Also, for your information, we've included a... 2/3
- M&S (@marksandspencer) November 27, 2017
...link to our latest blog where you can find out more about what we're doing with regard to chilled food > https://t.co/qEsRGFuJ2p We hope this reassures you we're taking your comments seriously & thanks again for sharing your concern. 3/3
- M&S (@marksandspencer) November 27, 2017
The store responded to tell Jasmine it would 'conduct a full investigation'.
Source: The Sun
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: uk news, Marks and Spencer
