Consumer ignorance about how to freeze food safely is helping to fuel the annual 7-million-tonne household food waste mountain in the UK, the government’s food watchdog has said.

The Food Standards Agency, working with the government department Defra, is to launch an urgent review of current guidance given to the food industry on date marking for food, which could include giving consumers more detailed and easy-to-understand advice on freezing and food storage.

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The FSA is urging UK householders to “face their freezer fears” after its research identified a number of myths preventing people from freezing food to make it go further.

Britons throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink every year – the bulk of which could have been eaten – according to the government’s Waste and Resources Action Programme. Wasting this food costs the average household £470 a year, rising to £700 for a family with children and at huge environmental cost.

In a survey of 1,500 consumers for the FSA’s research – released as part of Food Safety Week starting on Monday – 43% thought food should only be frozen on the day of purchase in order for it to be safe, when it can actually be frozen any time up to the use-by date. At the same time, 38% incorrectly said it was dangerous to refreeze meat after it had been cooked and 36% wrongly believed food could become unsafe to eat while in the freezer.

Over two-thirds (68%) of respondents admitted they had thrown food away in the past month, with bread (36%), fruit (31%), vegetables (31%) and leftover meals (22%) topping the list. The most common reason given for throwing food away was that it was past its use-by date – an excuse given by 36% of respondents. At the same time 30% admitted to throwing food away because they had bought too much and didn’t eat it, and over half (54%) said they felt guilty when they threw food away. However, the FSA said all these reasons could be avoided by making better use of the freezer.

“Every year, we throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes,” said Steve Wearne, director of policy at the FSA. “Much of this waste is unnecessary, and a better understanding of how to freeze food safely could go a significant way towards tackling the problem.”

Wearne said the FSA’s research showed that “many of the fears the public has about freezing food are unfounded and we need to ensure they know the facts. The freezer is like a pause button, so you can freeze foods right up to the use-by date. While food is kept safe in the freezer, it’s the quality that deteriorates over time, so we recommend eating it within three to six months and checking for any freezing instructions on the packaging. Once defrosted, the pause button is off, so defrost food as and when you need it and eat it within 24 hours of it being fully defrosted.”

Supermarkets have been urged to do more to avoid food waste elsewhere in the supply chain. Tesco, the only major supermarket to publish its food waste data, recently revealed the amount of food waste generated by the retailer increased to 59,400 tonnes last year – equivalent to nearly 119 million meals.