It has been reported that the UK on average, wastes 5 million Christmas puddings, 2 million turkeys and not to mention the large amounts of vegetables and festive snacks each Christmas.
With Christmas just around the corner, the stress of the Christmas food shop has kicked in for many. With the worry of the shop shelves being bare in the days leading up to Christmas – shoppers find themselves buying too much food too early, resulting in inevitable food waste.
To help shoppers, food waste experts at InSinkErator have revealed the shelf life of your Christmas dinner and the best time to do your food shop in order to avoid food waste.
The shelf life of your Christmas food shop
| Rank | Item | Shelf Life |
| 1 | Turkey | 2 days |
| 2= | Pigs in Blankets | 3 days |
| 2= | Brussel Sprouts | 3 days |
| 3 | Broccoli | 5 days |
| 4 | Peas | Up to 7 days |
| 5 | Parsnips | 7 days |
| 6 | Red Cabbage | 10 days |
| 7 | Potatoes | 2 weeks |
| 8 | Carrots | 3 weeks |
| 9 | Stuffing | 12 months |
| 10 | Gravy Granules | 24 months |
23rd December is the best day to do your Christmas food shop
Experts at InSinkErator comment: “Looking at the respective shelf lives of the components of a Christmas dinner, it appears as though you may want to plan on completing your Christmas food shop around the 23rd December (2 days before Christmas) to ensure that all produce is fresh in time for the festive celebrations.
When it comes to deciding the best time of day to complete the Christmas food shop, early in the morning is usually the best time to go in order to beat the midday influx of shoppers.”
How to keep your food shopping fresh this Christmas
Whilst some Christmas dinner components will remain unspoilt for up to 24 months, items such as Turkey, Pigs and Blankets as well as brussel sprouts have a much shorter shelf life and will spoil within a matter of days.
With this in mind, InSinkErator has revealed their top tips to ensure your Christmas food shopping stays fresh this festive season.
- Store raw meat at the bottom of the fridge
Keep raw meat fresh by storing it at the bottom of the fridge. It is the coldest area and avoids the risk of contamination. The temperature of your fridge should be below 5 degrees Celsius to slow down the action of any microbes without freezing your food.
- Avoid leaving the fridge door open
Avoid leaving the door of your fridge open any longer than necessary and keep raw meat sealed in its original packaging. If the packaging is opened, transfer the meat into an airtight container.
- Remove food from supermarket packaging
With regards to keeping vegetables fresh, be sure to transfer them from supermarket packaging into an airtight storage container. Supermarket packaging can accumulate moisture which will spoil your sprouts quicker.”
Our Favourite Christmas Dinner Side Dishes
