Ministers want BOGOFs to be scrapped

Over recent years many of the UK’s leading supermarkets have been launching special BOGOF – Buy One Get One Free – offers on a range of their products, from households goods to everyday grocery items.

However, according to a recent report ministers want these offers to be scrapped and replaced instead with half price offers. The ministers have said that this is to try and cut down on food wastage as well as to increase affordability for consumers in the difficult financial climate.

With BOGOF offers consumers still have to shell out the full price for the product, but simply get another one for free into the bargain.

In many cases this results in little or no benefit for the consumer, as sometimes the product does not have a long shelf life and therefore cannot be used in time, resulting in wastage of food.

With half price offers instead consumers would be able to get what they need and could save money on their shopping bill rather than paying full price and being lumbered with an additional food item that is destined to go off before it can be eaten.

Officials have also said that this measure could help to promote healthier lifestyles and diets for consumers. Figures from the government suggest that every year the average household throws away around £420 worth of food, amounting collectively to over four million tonnes of food being wasted each year.

There are now calls for supermarkets to be more focused on waste reduction from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Environment Secretary recently stated: ‘Last year, the world had a wake-up call with the sudden oil and food price rises, but the full environmental costs and the costs to our health remain significant and hidden. We need a radical rethink of how we produce and consume our food. We need everyone on the food system to get involved, from farmers and retailers to the health service, schools and consumers.’