A shopper was left gobsmacked after seeing trolley-loads of food at a newly opened Marks & Spencer store being taken from shelves – because staff weren’t allowed to reduce products in the first two weeks of trading. Although the store insists the food was not sent to landfill, charity worker Natalia Glover claims she was told by staff at The Broadway Shopping Centre outlet in Bradford, West Yorkshire, that the food was ‘going in the bin’. Charities have now criticised the store, saying the food could have been donated to help to feed hungry people in the area. Marks & Spencer say staff do not reduce food in the first two weeks of a store opening so they can get a clear picture of customer demand in the area, which helps reduce waste in the long run. One of the five trolley-loads of food Natalia Glover said staff at M&S, Bradford, told her was going 'in the bin' Miss Glover, pictured, said the wasted food at Marks & Spencer left her 'absolutely gobsmacked' Miss Glover, who works with children and young people at a charity, snapped the shopping carts piled high with perishable food and posted them on Facebook expressing her shock. She said the food, which included fresh mackerel, chicken thighs, and fruit and vegetables, could have gone to a good cause instead of being simply ‘thrown out’. Sharing the pictures on her Facebook page, Natalia posted: ‘Absolutely gobsmacked! ‘Just been in to Marks and Spencer’s in Broadway and see a member of staff stacking a trolley full of stock off the shelves, I asked if it was being reduced and the member of staff explained no it’s going in the BIN!! ‘All because they “aren’t” allowed to reduce stock in the first 2 weeks of the shopping center being open! Shocked I continued shopping to come across at least another 5 trolleys the same! ‘What and complete waste of good food that people without could have! There is people going hungry and they are chucking food out for funny’s. Really disappointed in marks and Spencer’s to say the least! Rant over!’[sic] Her photographs have now been shared more than 3,500 times on social media. However M&S have insisted that the food taken off the shelves hadn’t ended up in landfill sites. The department store said their policy when opening a new branch stops food being reduced so that staff can accurately record customer demand. He added this would help limit any waste in the future. The five trolley-loads of food including meat and fish A spokesman for the firm said: ‘Our priority is to reduce food waste whilst ensuring that, where there is surplus, we put it to the best possible use.’ He added that instead of going to landfill, waste food was sent to an anaerobic digestion plant - a system which sees organic food waste converted into energy. 'Any food that isn’t sold within its shelf life is given to a local charity partner or sent for recycling to generate energy. 'This system is now set up in our new Bradford store which will be supporting the local community with food donation.' However, charities in Bradford have said the food could have been put to better use. Lisa Seale, of the Bradford Central Foodbank, said: 'This isn’t what anyone wants to hear. Although the food-bank only accepts non-perishable food, there are plenty of other places that accept other foods, and we could have directed Marks and Spencer to them if they’d only asked.' Adam Smith, founder of Leeds-based The Real Junk Food Project, said: ‘From the pictures you can clearly see this food is perfectly edible and well packaged and it is terrible that it is not going to people who would happily eat it. Unfortunately this happens all the time with supermarkets.’ And John Tempest of the Bradford Soup Run said: 'There are enough hungry people in Bradford as it is. I’m surprised that Marks and Spencer haven’t found other ways of distributing their otherwise excellent products.' The charity worker's pictures of the trolleys have now been shared on Facebook more than 3,500 times Miss Glover questioned the policy at the M&S in The Broadway Shopping Centre in Bradford (pictured)
A shopper at a new Bradford store in Spencer claims out of date food was thrown away by staff. She photographed the food and her images have been shared five times on social media.The store insists the food was not sent to landfill, but to an anaerobic digestion plant, to be converted into energy. However, workers claim it was discarded. Marks & Spencer states that food is not discounted in new stores for the first 2 weeks in order to analyse customer demand and ultimately reduce waste. A spokesman stated that surplus food would be donated to the community. Charities in Bradford have criticised the store.