British grocer Co-op is introducing a ‘freeze me’ message to its Retail Brand (private brand) milk products, in a bid to cut down on 70,000 tons of milk wasted a year.

Figures from UK’s leading sustainability experts WRAP, highlight that more than more than £150 million worth of milk is waste each year, with milk wasted in the home contributing to 90% of this. A recent survey* shows that two-thirds (66%) of UK adults don’t freeze milk at home, 31% of UK adults didn’t’ know you can freeze milk and of these 34% say that now they do they will start freezing it.

The new on-pack message from Co-op will read: “Don’t waste me, freeze me, in a suitable, clean container, then defrost in the fridge, use within 24 hours.”

Milk is best within one month of freezing and for larger bottles it’s best to decant them into a container. When it’s ready to be used, defrost in the fridge to thaw fully and then use the defrosted milk within 24 hours.

Catherine Dishington, environment and sustainability manager at Co-op, said: “We’re committed in reducing our impact on the planet and we’re trying to help our customer and members make small changes that collectively, can make an impact.

“Freezing food is one of the easiest ways to make the most out of your weekly shop and prevent food wastage but not everyone knows that it’s perfectly safe to freeze milk. We hope that by having this message on pack it will not only save customers some money, it should also help them to throw away less.”

Estelle Herszenhorn, Strategic Technical Manager at WRAP, said: “It is fantastic to see Co-op, one of WRAP’s Courtauld 2030 signatories, adopting our best practice guidance by introducing freezing messaging to their own brand milk. Milk is one of the most wasted food products in the UK so this is a welcome move from the Co-op, demonstrating their commitment to helping people waste less. We encourage people to check out the Love Food Hate Waste website for more ways to make the most of the food you buy, save money and fight climate change.”

The new messaging will appear across all Co-op own brand milk products from September 2022.