Fruit and vegetables and ready meals are the most commonly-wasted grocery items, according to a British survey.

One in three consumers (35 per cent) admit to throwing away fruit and vegetables each week, with the majority explaining that they regularly buy too much with the intention of being healthy, the poll for myvouchercodes.co.uk found.

Some 29 per cent of those questioned threw away ready meals, 26 per cent binned bread and 18 per cent discarded dairy products including yoghurts, milk and cheese.

Meat was the fifth most discarded product, with 14 per cent throwing out uneaten cuts.

The most common excuse for throwing away bread was that loaves were too big to finish before their use-by date, while 21 per cent said they did not eat much bread but bought a loaf every week “just in case”.

A total of 86 per cent of respondents said they threw away uneaten items every week, while 74 per cent said this made them feel guilty.

Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, said: “It appears that fruit and vegetables are by far the most likely to get thrown away uneaten by Britons, with the majority blaming unfulfilled healthy intentions for their wastage.

“Throwing away uneaten food at the end of the week isn’t only a waste, but it’s essentially money going down the drain. Shoppers should try to limit excess wastage by taking a list to the supermarket and sticking to it, or planning weekly meals in advance,”he said.