Food waste vigilante says supermarkets are throwing out completely good wine and in-date meals as Waitrose, M&S and Lidl launch investigations
Major supermarkets have been accused of throwing out perfectly good food instead of donating it to charity – by a vigilante known as the Food Waste Inspector.
The anonymous avenger has filmed dozens of videos in which he rakes through bins behind branches of Lidl, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose, digging out food that has been thrown away despite seemingly still being edible.
In some cases, he purports to have found tins of food that were thrown away despite having sell-by dates that run into next year, bakery produce that should have been donated to charity – and what appeared to be an entire box of unspoiled white wine.
His efforts to expose alleged food waste by major chains have won him thousands of fans on Instagram and TikTok. He has revealed his face in some videos, but goes only by his pseudonym.
The videos, if verified, could be deeply embarrassing for the chains named: every major British supermarket pledges to donate its unsold excess food to charities and community groups.
Many also sell their leftover fresh goods through apps such as Olio and Too Good To Go at a heavy discount.
Posting under the handle ‘food_waste_inspector’, the nameless man appears to be from London and has been sharing videos of his visits to stores’ bins for months.
Supermarkets have told the Mail they are trying to work with him to address the problem, which was first reported on by industry magazine The Grocer.
An anonymous vigilante is calling out supermarkets for allegedly throwing away perfectly good food (pictured: Waitrose mince in a video filmed in December)
The ‘Food Waste Inspector’ has accused Lidl of disposing of baked goods that it pledges to donate to charity at the end of each day
In one video he found what appeared to be an entire case of 2024 New Zealand white wine – each bottle still sealed
One video shared last week showed what appeared to be a full case of 2024 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc wine, each bottle still sealed, in the bin behind an M&S, alongside several bottles of ginger wine.
‘All brand new and sealed, every single one, and a whole box of this. Full up. Crazy waste from M&S, so wasteful every night,’ the vigilante says.
Other M&S videos show packs of bacon, reduced-price chickens and cartons of milk being disposed of in bins – alongside in-date tins of sardines and cartons of pineapple juice.
Later, the Food Waste Inspector finds that some M&S stores have padlocked their bins – and accuses them of trying to stop him from exposing their allegedly wasteful practices.
Marks & Spencer has contacted the food-saving scourge in order to establish where things are failing to be salvaged. It had pledged to ensure 100 per cent of edible food ‘ends up on a person’s plate’ by the end of 2025, and says it is checking with stores to ensure they are dealing with surplus food properly.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, a spokesperson said: ‘It’s clear that in a small number of stores something has gone wrong and we’re looking into that right now.
‘We have a clear process to manage food waste in store. Our stores check products regularly and where there’s a surplus, they should be reducing the price in good time to help sell it before the date is up.
‘Food that’s still unsold and edible, we donate to local community groups through our partner Neighbourly. We can also give it to colleagues or surprise our customers with a treat.’
Recent videos of Waitrose showed what appeared to be in-date tins of beans with a sell-by of December 2027, and a bin full of unopened packets of fresh meat including lamb shoulders and whole chickens.
The vigilante asks: ‘Perfectly intact can of beans… no dent, no damage. Why were these not donated?’
He has also accused Boots of disposing of fresh food and drink that could have been donated or sold at a reduced price
A video showed what appeared to be perfectly good fresh produce thrown into a bin – alongside a power screwdriver
Supermarkets have told the Daily Mail they are looking into some of the claims made by the nameless social media avenger
Waitrose told the Daily Mail that the meat in question had spent some time out of cold storage and was no longer fit for human consumption.
It is investigating the other video, and pointed to its record of donating the equivalent of 31million meals to Fareshare as proof of its commitment to tackling food waste.
A Waitrose spokesperson said: ‘We have established that the fresh produce shown in one of the two films was not fit for human consumption as it was out of the chiller for too long and therefore was to be collected to be converted into either animal feed or energy for use in the agriculture sector using anaerobic digestion.
‘We continue to investigate the other film and would welcome the chance to meet The Food Waste Inspector to discuss his findings.’
Elsewhere, he has raked through bins behind branches of pharmacy chain Boots where, he says, he has found sandwiches that were not even marked as reduced as they approached their use-by dates.
‘Salads, sandwiches, desserts – so much stuff in here, drinks, all yesterday’s date, not one reduced sticker, just thrown in the bin,’ he thunders. ‘Pure laziness.’
Boots was contacted for comment.
Even budget supermarkets are not escaping this vigilante’s watchful eye. He has made numerous visits to Lidl, where he says everything from fresh meat to flowers and even ‘middle of Lidl’ items such as power tools have been thrown out.
One video shared earlier this week even showed a bin full of freshly baked croissants, donuts and pastries which, per the supermarket’s policies, should have been donated to good causes.
‘Nothing wrong with them,’ he says as he handles a net of fresh tomatoes. He then picks up a power screwdriver which, as he fiddles with the controls, begins working. ‘All working, brand new. They’re throwing stuff away and there’s no need to.’
It is understood that Lidl has identified the stores featured in the Food Waste Inspector’s videos, and is speaking with store managers to ensure proper processes are being followed.
A Lidl spokesperson told the Mail that is has distributed millions of meals to over 2,800 good causes: ‘Lidl is investigating videos showing potential compliance issues with our food waste procedures at several of our stores as a matter of high priority.
‘We are grateful to the Food Waste Inspector for drawing attention to this issue and are working closely with regional management teams to ensure all colleagues are briefed and aware of the steps they need to take to donate surplus items.
‘The examples shared by the Food Waste Inspector are not representative of our broader food redistribution work.’
Neighbourly, which works with M&S and Lidl to distribute surplus food, says the Food Waste Inspector’s videos represent a ‘tiny proportion’ of food that is not donated.
Steve Butterworth, its CEO, said in a statement to the Mail: ‘The videos circulating online represent a tiny proportion of food that isn’t donated, and we strive to support our network to make redistribution efficient whilst also ensuring health and safety of collectors and recipients is the highest priority.’
The Daily Mail has sought an interview with the Food Waste Inspector.
