Major UK supermarkets launch investigations after shocking food waste claims

Three of the UK’s largest supermarkets are investigating allegations of excessive food waste at their stores after an enterprising activist drew attention to the issue on social media.

Waitrose, Lidl, and M&S have all confirmed they are following up on issues raised by the self-styled “Food Waste Inspector”, who began posting videos online in September 2025.

The anonymous campaigner has uploaded several videos showing piles of in-date food deposited in waste bins outside of supermarkets, which he argues should be donated to food banks instead. Some videos also show goods such as crockery or other household decorations in waste piles.

One video of a Lidl waste bin taken at 2pm showed items like sausages, potatoes, and strawberries, all within date, had been discarded, seemingly without being reduced in price first. Another sees cans of tuna, not set to expire until 2030, taken from a bin.

Footage from an M&S store taken on 14 January shows products like sliced meat, whole chicken, and bakery items wasted, despite some not expiring until 17 January.

The uploaded footage is often taken late at night from usually off-limits areas at supermarkets, such as delivery courtyards and warehouses.

The so-called “inspector”, who now has more than 70,000 followers on Instagram, also alleged several locations had started making efforts to conceal their levels of food waste after he began drawing attention to the issue.

In an online petition, he wrote: “Every day, countless individuals and families across our nation find themselves struggling to make ends meet. Bills pile up, and many are forced to make heart-wrenching choices between paying for utilities or putting food on the table.

“Meanwhile, supermarkets are discarding perfectly edible food in massive quantities every day. Imagine the impact if all that good food went to people who desperately need it, instead of ending up in landfills. Not only would it help alleviate hunger, but it would also be a significant step towards sustainability and responsible resource use.”

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The three stores against which allegations have been made have all said that the footage shared does not reflect the company-wide procedures which are in place.

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We have strict procedures to ensure edible surplus food reaches those who need it. We have established that the fresh produce shown in one of the two films was not fit for human consumption and therefore was to be collected to be converted into either animal feed or energy for use in the agriculture sector using anaerobic digestion. We continue to investigate the other film.”

The store added that it has donated 31 million meals to help redistribute surplus food waste through its partnership with FareShare.

A Lidl spokesperson said: “Lidl is investigating videos showing potential compliance issues with our food waste procedures at several of our stores as a matter of high priority. We are grateful to the Food Waste Inspector for drawing attention to this issue and are working closely with regional management teams and Neighbourly to ensure all colleagues are briefed and aware of the steps they need to take to donate surplus items.”

They added that the videos shared are “not representative” of Lidl’s broader food redistribution work, through which 18.5 million meals have been donated to support more than 4 million people.

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M&S confirmed it is looking into the claims against specific stores. A spokesperson said: “We have a clear process to manage food waste in store. It starts with the right stock in the right place at the right time. Our stores check products regularly, and where there’s a surplus, they should be reducing the price in good time to help sell it before the date is up.

“Food that’s still unsold and edible, we donate to local community groups through our partner Neighbourly. We can also give it to colleagues or surprise our customers with a treat. It’s clear that in a small number of stores, something has gone wrong, and we’re looking into that right now.”

They added that more than 100 million meals have been donated through the partnership, and that unusable food does not go to a landfill but is sent for anaerobic digestion for renewable energy.

While supermarkets are encouraged to partner with schemes like Neighbourly and FareShare to donate unsold food, there is currently no legislation requiring them to do so.

Commenting on the issue, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap), a charity which works to reduce global food waste, said: “Redistribution of surplus food from the retail, food manufacturing, and the hospitality and food service sector has improved over recent years.

“Retailers have reduced food waste within their operations by 26 per cent per kg per capita between 2007 and 2021. Now, most have links with charities and can redistribute more food, and clearly there will be times when more can be done. It’s good that the retailers are taking steps to address this, as no good food should ever go to waste.”