SUPERMARKETS have been told by the Government to donate out-of-date food to feed the homeless.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has written to all the major retailers urging them to sign-up to schemes that help the vulnerable in society, instead of sending edible produce to landfill.

He singled out the national charity FareShare for its work in relieving food poverty. It collects "surplus" food which is still "fit for purpose" and distributes it to the homeless, elderly people and families who struggle to make ends meet.

It promotes the message that "no good food should be wasted", sending out thousands of meals from its 12 depots around the country. It hopes to expand to a total of 30 sites. Mr Benn said: "Last year, FareShare redistributed food to 600 local charities, benefiting 29,000 people a day.

Click here to read Matt Chorley's latest blog

"The food redistributed contributed towards 7.4 million meals and helped businesses save 14,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. I have just written to all of the supermarkets to say if you are not supporting FareShare's work, I think you should."

Ministers have been concerned about the amount of food thrown away by supermarkets because it has past its "best before" date or does not meet strict guidelines on appearance.

Mr Benn wants to see labelling improved: "We are working with supermarkets on sell-by and best-before dates which are different to use-by dates, which is concerned with food safety. It is pretty clear there is confusion with customers."

The Government's new food strategy calls for "clear, unambiguous date labelling, food storage and usage guidance". It also suggests using surplus food from retailers to generate energy through anaerobic digestion or producing fertiliser and compost.

The strategy insists big changes in the food supply chain will be driven by consumer choice, not Government intervention.

Mr Benn added: "A growing number of retailers now sell apparently less-than-beautiful fruit and vegetables, which consumers are snapping up because it's how they taste that really matters."

Former Labour farming minister Lord Whitty last year called for an end to two-for-one offers on junk food, crisps and biscuits to tackle the mountains of waste sent to landfill and improve the health of the nation.

But Morrisons, one of Britain's so-called Big Four chains, hit back insisting it was wrong to "deny the people the opportunity to by in bulk, crisps or biscuits".

Some supermarkets have agreed to develop "buy one, get one free later" deals which would still give discounts without risking excess food being thrown away.