Lifestyle & Culture

SA’s food waste starts long before the kitchen bin

Buying in bulk saves little if half ends up in the bin. From shopping habits to confusing date labels, understanding why we waste food can help stretch the grocery budget.

by Charlotte Hayes

Updated November 13, 2026

Food waste often begins with good intentions. We buy extra vegetables because we plan to cook more, stock up on a special offer or save leftovers for another meal. Then plans change, groceries disappear behind newer purchases and food bought to be eaten ends up in the bin.

These everyday losses form part of a much larger problem. South Africa’s Food Losses and Waste Strategy, published by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment in 2025, estimates annual food losses and waste at 11.1 million tonnes, based on data from 2010 to 2019. However, much of that food is lost before consumers have a chance to buy it.

Produce can be damaged during harvesting or transport, rejected because of its appearance or spoiled by inadequate storage. Further losses occur during processing and in shops. By the time we throw away something from our own fridge, the water, energy, labour and money used to produce and deliver it have already been spent.

At home, the problem is often a mismatch between what we buy and what we actually use. A bulk purchase offers little saving if half of it spoils, while a fridge full of groceries can still lead to another shopping trip when we cannot see what is already there.

🎶 𝖣𝖾𝗄𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗌 𝗌𝖾 𝗈𝗈𝗋𝗌𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗇𝗄𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝖠𝖿𝗋𝗂𝗄𝖺𝖺𝗇𝗌𝖾 𝖽𝗂𝗀𝗄𝗎𝗇𝗌 𝗄𝗋𝗒 𝗇𝗎𝗐𝖾 𝗅𝖾𝗐𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝗎𝗋 𝗆𝗎𝗌𝗂𝖾𝗄. 𝖶𝖾𝗅𝗄𝗈𝗆 𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝖪𝗅𝖾𝗂𝗇 𝖪𝖺𝗋𝗈𝗈 - 𝖡𝗈𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗌𝖾 𝖻𝗂𝗇𝗇𝖾𝗄𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗋.

Date labels can add to the confusion. A ‘best before’ date concerns quality, while a ‘use by’ date concerns food safety. Passing a best-before date does not automatically make a product unsafe, although its storage conditions and the instructions on the packaging still matter. A use-by date should not be treated as interchangeable with it.

Reducing waste therefore starts before the next shopping trip. Checking the fridge and cupboards helps identify what needs using first, and planning a few meals around those ingredients gives them a purpose. A shopping list based on that check is more useful than buying for meals we vaguely hope to make.

The same thinking applies to leftovers. Deciding when they will be eaten, or freezing suitable portions promptly, gives them a better chance of becoming another meal. Keeping older groceries at the front also makes them harder to overlook.

Households cannot address losses across the entire food system. Businesses must improve handling, storage and distribution, with initiatives such as those of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa supporting that work. For consumers, though, the benefit is immediate and practical. Making better use of food already paid for stretches the grocery budget and reduces the resources wasted along with it.