Tesco has announced it will start selling unwashed potatoes in its stores for the first time since the 1970s in a move to help cut down food waste in homes across the country.
Waste advisory action group WRAP say that potatoes are the UK’s single most wasted food in the home and that selling washed potatoes actually reduces their shelf life.
Shops used to sell unwashed tatties because leaving the soil on the potatoes is said to block out sunlight and slow down their natural decay - meaning that they last even longer in your cupboard.
Tesco Produce lead technical manager Rob Hooper said: “Up until about 50 years ago potatoes would generally be sold unwashed and having a natural film of soil around them would help keep them fresher for longer.
“But towards the end of the 1970s, supermarkets and greengrocers in general moved towards selling more cosmetically perfect produce and as a result, potatoes were washed before being put out on display.
“Last November we ran an initial trial to see how shoppers would respond and it was a success, so now we are widening this trial."
Tesco recently ran an initial trial of selling organic white potatoes across 120 stores with positive results and it is now extending the move to 262 stores.
So far the trials have shown that leaving the potatoes unwashed adds up to an extra five days freshness - thus resulting in even less food waste.
