Would You Buy (Cheap) Expired Food to Cut Down on Food Waste?

Photo: Stocksy/Lumina
A grocery basket full of gluten-free pasta and bone broth adds up pretty quickly. How far would you go to save money on your favorite healthy foods? If you're in England, now you can head to one of the 125 East of England stores and buy some of your go-tos at a discount, according to BBC News. But there's a catch: They'll be expired.

As a reaction to the 7.3 million tons of food thrown away each year in the UK, the chain is now selling expired dried food and tinned products for about 10 cents a piece. (No dairy products or meat are being sold after the sell-by date—dried food only!)

"The vast majority of our customers understand they are fine to eat and appreciate the opportunity to make a significant saving on some of their favorite products," Roger Grosvenor, East of England Co-op's joint chief executive, tells BBC News.

While Grosvenor says the initiative was not launched with profits in mind, the expired goods are selling fast, proving that many aren't at all grossed out by eating foods past the date on the label—at least certain foods.

As of right now, none of the major grocery retailers in the US have similar plans, but if you want to follow in the footsteps of the food waste-conscious healthy eaters across the pond, you can shop for dried and packaged food nearing its sell-by date instead of going for whatever is just closest. And PS: Being a little more stringent about what you toss out at home goes a long way, too.

Here are 10 other ways you can help reduce food waste. You can also try this vegan burger, made from juice pulp!

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