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There is less than a month left to refine the menu for New Year’s Eve and the Christmas meal. Festive moments that we often consider successful simply by the profusion of dishes that follow one another at the table. And the consequence is unfortunately waste. Except that the most wasted food is not necessarily the one we think of…
Oysters ? Certainly not. Smoked salmon? Even less. Foie gras ? No way. In reality, the Christmas meal products that we throw away the most don’t really change from those that the French already waste the rest of the year. Baguette for toasts or sauce for turkey juice, fig and walnut bread for cheese, sandwich bread for smoked salmon… Christmas is also the season for all types of bread. If this product comes at the top of the most wasted foods in the study just revealed by the Too Good To Go app, with 37% of French people who recognize it as the most thrown away product, it is not such a big deal. surprise as it accompanies many symbols of the festive table. Unfortunately, the rest of the year, it’s also the bread that most often ends up forgotten. In 2021, a Smartway/OpinionWay study placed it at the top of the list of food waste, ahead of fruits, vegetables and unfinished dishes.
Logically, it is therefore not the prestigious dishes that we treat ourselves to once a year, for the holidays, and which often require a financial effort, with which we are choosy. Langoustines, crabs and other shellfish do not appear in the Too Good To Go list. Conversely, anything that accompanies the rest of the menu is likely not to be finished, such as rice, potatoes and pasta (32%). In short, more economical products, but which can still represent a hell of a budget when you compare the quantity cooked and the quantity thrown away….
More unexpected are the verrines and toasts that we serve as aperitifs that we bring back en masse to the kitchen before sitting at the table (29%). Without doubt, the French fail to calculate the right proportions. This analysis carried out by YouGov indicates that 63% of French people buy more food than necessary simply for fear of running out. And that’s just declarative. How many French people have not dared to admit it, especially in a context of inflation which has weakened certain consumer profiles such as young people and women? A reality of which they are largely aware. In fact, nearly a third of those surveyed said they planned to reduce their food purchases for the holidays…
The survey was carried out on 1011 people representative of the French national population aged 18 and over. The survey was carried out online, on the YouGov France proprietary panel, from October 30 to 31, 2023.