Birds Eye owner Nomad Foods said families are “throwing money away” due to a deeply embedded “fresh-first” food habit.
That is according to the frozen food giant’s latest Frozen in Focus report, which indicates that nearly half of European households are discarding fresh vegetables every month, compared with fewer than three in 10 for frozen equivalents.
The report adds that this is costing families up to £539 a year, at a time when household budgets are stretched.
Nomad Foods attributes this waste partly to insufficient refrigeration, and points out that global Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates suggest the issue leads to 526 million tonnes of food waste every year.
The manufacturer said embracing frozen food is a practical way to both stabilise the food supply chain and help households save money.
Dominic Brisby, chief executive officer at Nomad Foods, said: “We’ve created a food culture where ‘fresh’ feels like the better choice, but in reality it’s costing families hundreds of euros a year in wasted food. At a time when people are trying to make their budgets stretch further, rethinking how we use frozen food could make a real difference.”
“What works for households also matters at a national and European level. Frozen food is not a compromise; it’s one of the most practical tools we have to improve access to everyday protein, reduce waste and build resilience into the food system. Europe needs a more balanced approach, where frozen sits alongside fresh to secure nutrition, manage household bills and prevent waste.”
According to Nomad Foods, the primary driver of this waste is a perception gap: nearly two-thirds of consumers wrongly believe fresh produce, chicken and fish are inherently more nutritious than their frozen equivalents.
This leads them to buy fresh by default, which the company says often results in food spoiling before it is used.
The data used in the report comes from a study of more than 10,750 adults across the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Croatia.
