‘Ugly’ camembert saved from the bin
Anti-waste group says misshapen Normandy cheeses have same taste so should still be sold – but 30% cheaper
AFTER having saved oddly-shaped cucumbers, carrots, apples and strawberries from the rubbish bin, anti-food waste campaigners have turned their eye on Normandy camemberts – saying that even with lumps and bumps they lose none of their taste.
The group Gueules Cassées is extending its marketing campaign for misshapen foods and, after success selling “ugly” fruit and veg to supermarkets to be sold at a cheaper price it wants to do the same for camembert.
It plans to create a range of “anti-waste” food products with the aim of selling them 30% cheaper than “perfect” goods.
Gueules Cassées has set up a funding plan on the crowdfunding site KissKissBankBank, saying food products that are perfectly good in every way bar their appearance should not be dumped and that a new distribution system should be set up.
The first new targets are the camembert made from “lait cru” or untreated milk which, if it is not perfectly round or perfectly flat is thrown in the bin because it no longer “conforms” to the ideal, despite being made from the same milk and having the same taste.
It says that up to 450,000 perfectly edible camemberts are thrown out in Normandy each year and could be reclaimed and sold on.
Gueules Cassées also wants to produce a range of misshapen cornflakes and cereals with the aim of stopping one million boxes of wrong-sized flakes from being dumped.
Food producers can register their “ugly” products with the Gueules Cassées website and receive stickers to put on the items which will then be resold through local traders. Gueules Cassées has set up the crowdfunding scheme to pay for marketing and packaging the products.
* All this week we will be looking at newsworthy events in Normandy to tie in with a feature on Normandy food festivals in this month’s Connexion.
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