Supermarkets in France offer anti-waste measures to help shoppers save
Some stores have introduced discounts for fresh products that are imperfect, ‘ugly’ or nearing their sell-by dates
Many food products can be consumed beyond their best-before date (not use-by date), prompting supermarkets to offer a range of deals to help shoppers save money
Marko Marcello / Shutterstock
Major supermarkets in France - including Carrefour, Casino, Franprix, and Auchan - have brought in a range of anti-waste measures to help customers save money, as the cost of living continues to rise.
A series of ‘anti-gaspi’ (anti-gaspillage, anti-waste) measures are now in force across many stores. They include:
Carrefour
An ‘anti-gaspi’ aisle with products that are slightly past their best before date (date de durabilité minimale (DDM)) on sale at -30% to -50%. Products past their best-before date (rather than a use-by date) are safe to eat but may have slightly reduced flavour or nutritional value.
Franprix
Now has ‘corners anti-gaspi’, with non-perishable products at -30% reduction.
Auchan
Price reductions on products whose best-before dates are close or recently passed.
Casino
‘Anti-gaspi’ baskets that include fruit and vegetables with visible defects but whose flavour is not affected. The brand is aiming to save 75 tonnes of food per month with the new scheme.
Intermarché
Has had a ‘les moches’ (the ugly ones) scheme in place for fruit and vegetables since March, and has saved 150 tonnes of waste so far.
Leclerc
The supermarket giant has also had an anti-waste basket scheme for ‘ugly veg’ in place since 2021.
Système U
Offers discounts on fresh products that are close to their use-by dates, for immediate consumption. These include meat, charcuterie and dairy products such as yoghurts.
However, it warns that food should not be eaten past its use-by date (la date limite de consommation (DLC)). In contrast, food can often be safely eaten beyond a best-before date.
The term ‘anti-gaspi’ is becoming more common in France, and is part of a movement to cut food waste drastically in a bid to save resources.
Read more: Moneysaver: We try out French app to source cheap shop and cafe food
Several apps exist to help shoppers buy unused, still good-to-eat food at heavily discounted prices. These include Too Good To Go, Phenix, Karma, Mummyz, and OptiMiam.
France has been working to cut food waste in recent years, and in 2012 set a goal to halve the amount of food thrown away in the country by 2025.
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