WAITROSE have been slammed online after allegedly binning bags of in-date bread during the cost of living crisis.
Juliet Landau-Pope says she spotted the supermarket staff loading the loaves into a large plastic bag at the branch in Mill Hill, London last week.
The 58-year-old claims to have offered to take the bread to a local food bank to which the staff allegedly replied that the items must be disposed of due to “allergy concerns”.
However, the productivity coach argued that allergy labels were printed on the packaging and claimed that store manager Jack struggled to further explain their decision to bin the bread.
Outraged, Juliet, From Finchley, North London, shared her encounter to Twitter later that day writing: “At 5pm as @waitrose #MillHill #Barnet is closing, staff are binning bags of #bread that is in-date, with full allergy info displayed.
“I offered to deliver it to a local #foodbank but wasn’t allowed. How can this be ethical or excusable?
“Manager Jack cites allergy concerns but @GAILsBakery loaves are in-date with allergy labels. He can’t give any other explanation, insisting that bread must be thrown out. I’m in tears.
“For the record, I don’t want the bread myself. Thankfully, I can afford to buy food (and anyway my home is gluten-free) but many local families are struggling so this @waitrose policy is just plain wrong.”
The tweet has now collected over 4,000 likes with more than 1,700 retweets and 300 comments from social media users who slammed the supermarket.
Waitrose have since responded to Juliet, writing: “Hi Juliet, We are sorry to see this and will be making sure that no food which is safe to consume is wasted.
“We want all of our food to be eaten and it’s our policy that any unsold food that is still safe to consume is either redistributed to those in need.”
One Twitter user said: “I’m disabled, I was having a few health issues so missed the shop.
“I need bread, I would have loved some of this because I’m surviving on disability benefits.
“I’m too ill to work if anyone is thinking I’m a lazy scrounger.”
Another wrote: “Food manufacturers and suppliers could have it written into supermarket contracts that, providing any food is in date and fit for human consumption, all unsold items must be offered to food banks rather than just being destroyed.
“It would cut food waste, help the poor and be good PR.”
A third commented: “He probably doesn’t have an explanation other than some load of b*****ks from head office.
“There isn’t a reason they couldn’t have an arrangement with a local hostel or other charity to redistribute the unsold products.”
A fourth added: “He could have marked it down to one penny, sold it to you and absolved Waitrose of any responsibility.”
Speaking today (THUR), Juliet said: “I popped into Waitrose, Mill Hill at 4.55 pm, on Sunday 21st August, to buy milk – I’m a regular customer as I live nearby.
“I was walking past the bread section when I saw three members of staff loading up bin bags filled with loaves of bread, and some of the bread was in sealed bags.
“Some of the bakery baguettes were also in the bags. I asked what they were doing and the three staff members I spoke to told me they were throwing the bread and bakeries away.
“I asked them how they could do that and said I would take [the food] to a local food bank as I donate occasionally and am in touch with local charities.
“I can arrange for local charities to collect food – you cannot throw away good bread.
“I then asked to speak to the manager, Jack. I asked him the same thing and he said you must know all about Natasha’s Law.
“I said I do. She is the woman who died from an allergy in Pret. That’s why we have labels on food. I know all about allergies as my daughter has allergies.
“We are a gluten-free household. The bread was in-date and I was there on 21st, the bread expired on 22nd and was very clearly labelled with the labels regarding allergies.
“I told him, yes they’re being responsible, but there has to be another reason. The manager said ‘there is another reason but I can’t tell you.’
“At this point, I had a group around me, asking the manager the same questions.
“Waitrose doesn’t seem to think it’s good optics. The manager then had no reasonable explanation.
“How can he be responsible for the store and he can’t do anything?
“I gave him my number and card, I was so upset. I don’t understand why it can’t be given out. The staff said they just throw everything out.
“I know from other shops and people who contacted me, they slash the price and sell.
“I would have taken the bread away and given it to someone else.”
A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We aim to give all suitable surplus food to good causes, with over 8.5 million meals donated to date.
“All our shops have charity partners, but this bread wasn’t given away due to a misunderstanding over allergens. This has since been rectified.”
