The Dutch government’s food and nutrition centre has launched a campaign to help people cut down on food waste, pointing out that families are on average throwing away 41 kilos of food a year.

The 2016 figure may be well down on the 48 kilos recorded in 2010, but more still needs to be done, the Voedingscentrum says.

‘More than a quarter of our food in the Netherlands is wasted,’ the organisation said. ‘Food is wasted on the farm, in the factory, during transportation and at home.’

The campaign targets families, particularly those with small children, and urges them to cook less pasta and rice, turn down their fridge temperature so food stays good longer, and take a shopping list to the supermarket.

The main problem is that food in the Netherlands is too cheap, Rabobank food economist Els van Diermen told broadcaster NOS. ‘Because it is so cheap, people don’t seem to bother about it. But every family is throwing away food worth €50 a month – that is €600 a year.’

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