The poll of more than 5,000 UK adults revealed that while 74% of people actively turn lights off when they leave a room, 55% turn down the heating and 32% have changed energy suppliers to keep household bills down, just 3% see an issue with wasting food. 

While the three former changes would result in savings of around £305 per year, the average household wastes roughly £700 a year on food that is thrown away.

In contrast, consumers believe that just 10% of their food budget is spent on food that ends up being wasted - equivalent to £400 a year. 

In a story on the Guardian website, Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe was quoted as saying: “Wasting food has become so normal, there is now no stigma attached to throwing food away.

"The report shows that people are cost-conscious and making concerted efforts to turn off lights and minimise energy use. However, people are still overlooking the much bigger savings that could be delivered by simply throwing away less food.”