Buy-one-get-one-free deals and a “neurotic” attitude to sell-by dates have led to Britons throwing away almost a third of the food they buy at supermarkets.

The wastage, which costs every adult £460 a year, is now out of control, according to research from Wrap, the government-funded Waste & Resources Action Programme.

Lord Haskins, who has advised Tony Blair about countryside matters and first highlighted the scandal of food waste, described as “outrageous” the latest figures revealing that the value of food wasted had risen by £3 billion a year since 2005 to about £23 billion. Food waste from the home has increased by a million tonnes a year to 6.7 million tonnes, with 30 per cent of all supermarket purchases going straight in the bin.

Lord Haskins, a former chairman of Northern Foods, is demanding government action to identify new uses for this surplus or action to reduce it.

Part of the problem, he said, was that people were “too neurotic” about sell-by and best-before dates on food. He first introduced them at Marks & Spencer in the late 1970s.

“These dates and codes are needed for food safety reasons and especially on raw meats, poultry and cooked chicken. I wouldn’t advise anyone to eat any of these out of date as it could be dodgy,” he said.

“But otherwise they are intended as a guide. The labels says ‘best before’ not that they will kill you after. Yoghurt has a shelf-life of three weeks — well, I’ve definitely eaten yoghurt that’s been six weeks old and it has been fine.”

The trend for Bogofs, or buy-one-get-one-free” offers, encouraged people to buy more than they could use. Supermarkets use Bogofs to get rid of items they have overordered, but shoppers are advised to resist the offers, especially those for fresh fruit, vegetables and salads.

Lord Haskins said: “Waste is the curse of a consumerist society and we have got to tackle it.”

About half of discarded food is cooked leftovers, and the other half inedible food waste such as vegetable peelings or bones. Fruit and vegetables that have lost their freshness were the most binned food followed by stale bread and cakes.

He added: “The true picture is worse because the research is just household waste. What about the waste from food processors who throw away blemished fruits and overtrim vegetables? What about the waste on food that never leaves the farm? I would guess we probably waste over 50 per cent of the food we produce.”

Jennie Price, chief executive of Wrap, is also concerned about the energy being squandered on producing food destined for the bin. About a fifth of UK carbon emissions are related to the production, processing, transport and storage of food. Most of the waste food goes into landfill sites, where it breaks down and produces greenhouse gases.

She said: “If you want three pork chops, they [supermarkets] shouldn’t sell you four. If you eat half a bag of salad you should be able to reseal it and eat the rest next day.”

Marguerite Patten, the 91-year-old food writer who advised the Government on nutrition in the Second World War, called on supermarkets to sell smaller packs. She said: “When I became a widow I had to adapt my shopping for one person. I was getting on well and then supermarkets started to increase the size of packaging.”

Waste not, want not

19% of all household waste is from food

10% of people admit they throw out food

6m tonnes of domestic food is wasted a year

30% of all supermarket purchases go straight in the bin

15% is waste from the dinner plate or discarded leftovers from the fridge

15% is inedible waste – peelings, bones, tea bags, coffee filters

15p of every £1 spent in a supermarket is put in the bin

70% of all fridges are too warm

1 to 5C recommended fridge temperature

250,000 tonnes a year of food waste from supermarkets and corner shops

1.9m tonnes a year of food waste from pubs, restaurants and food outlets

£460 a year – cost of food waste per adult in Britain

£23bn a year – total value of food waste

Tips:

Try to use resealable tags on salad bags

Plan ahead when you are eating out to stop food waste

Older vegetables can be made into midweek meals such as soups, curries or casseroles

Older fruit can be made into smoothie drinks Tips

Make a list and check fridge contents before going shopping

Use new smart labels with timestrips to indicate if food is safe to eat

Organise fridge so oldest food is eaten first and is kept in front

Don’t be tempted by “buy one get one free” offers you won’t eat

Sources: Wrap (Waste & Resources Action Programme)/Times archives

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