Horsemeat: Millions Of Ready Meals Thrown Away

Nearly 18 million packets of processed food were thrown away by families in Britain after the horsemeat scandal, according to a survey.

More than 13,500 tons of items like sausages, burgers and meat pies were chucked in the bin, the research for kitchenware manufacturer Tefal found.

The firm says it believes this shows that the recent scandals have had a positive effect on the nation's eating habits, with Britons becoming more aware of the health risks of eating too many processed ready meals.

Almost a quarter (24%) of the 2007 UK adults questioned by ICM said they had cut down on the amount of processed food they eat.

Nearly a third (30%) of respondents said they were put off processed meals as a result of the horsemeat scandal.

The number who said they had thrown out processed ready meals like lasagnes and curries was just under 2.8 million.

The survey also found that people are eating around 20% more British apples, garden peas, cauliflower and cabbage.

The research was to start Tefal's Fresh Week, an initiative to encourage the UK to exchange convenience and ready-made meals for fresh unprocessed food.