What we claim, and how we know

Food waste

• A typical UK family of four throws away about £1,000 of good food every year.

  Based on

  WRAP’s household food waste figures for 2021, published on 23 Nov 2023: about £250 a person, of food bought but not eaten. (WRAP, 23 Nov 2023)

  What we mean

  An average across UK homes, of food that could have been eaten. It isn’t a figure for your home, and it isn’t what you’ll save by using Nomstash.

• Could your family save £1,000?

  Based on

  The same WRAP figure. We always ask it as a question, with the WRAP line under it.

  What we mean

  A question, not a promise. We don’t say what you’ll save until the app has measured it for your household.

• Potatoes, Bread, Broccoli, Bananas, Carrots are the five foods UK homes bin most.

  Based on

  WRAP’s survey of UK households in June 2024, in which people said how much of each food they threw away. (Resource Media, reporting WRAP)

  What we mean

  What people said they threw away, ranked. It’s a survey of what people report, not a weighing of their bins.

The five foods each have a page on using the whole lot in one session: use up the whole bag.

Prices

How we estimate prices

Our prices are estimates, not quotes. We regularly check what a broad cross section of everyday products, at different prices, cost across several major UK supermarkets, and use a typical price from the middle of what we find.

What you pay depends on where you shop, what you pick and the offers on the day.

The prices we show

• This shop costs about £31.90.Example figure

  Based on

  Typical UK supermarket prices for the packs on your list, as below.

  What we mean

  An estimate of the till price for whole packs, not a quote. At typical UK supermarket prices, so yours may differ a little.

• £25.57 for the shop, about £1.07 a portion.

  Based on

  The example cook day in our guides, priced the same way.

  What we mean

  Example figures, marked as examples wherever they appear. Yours come from your own plan.

• In your freezer: about £96 of home cooking at typical supermarket prices.Example figure

  Based on

  What the ingredients in the containers you’ve stashed would cost at typical supermarket prices.

  What we mean

  What the food in your freezer is worth as ingredients, shown only when most portions are priced. Never a saving.

• Estimated saving: about £1.20 less a portion than a similar ready meal.Example figure

  Based on

  Typical UK supermarket prices for the recipe’s ingredients, and for ready meals of the same dish.

  What we mean

  How a comparison with ready meals reads wherever we show one: an estimate for one portion, compared like for like. Not a guaranteed saving, and never added up over a year.

• Price guide £7–£10 per kgExample figure

  Based on

  Typical UK supermarket prices for that ingredient, from the same prices as our estimates, per kg, per 100g or each. (Price per kg)

  What we mean

  An indicator of what’s normal, so you can tell a fair price from a dear one. It isn’t a quote or the price at your shop today, and it doesn’t say which shop is cheapest.

• Big supermarkets show the price per kg on the shelf label.

  Based on

  The Price Marking Order 2004, as the government’s guidance on it explains. It covers online shops too, and smaller shops don’t always have to show it. (Department for Business and Trade)

  What we mean

  Where to find the figure to compare with the bar on your list. The unit on the label varies, which is why the list lets you switch it.

Time

• +5 min: toss the peelings in oil and bake them on the shelf below.

  Based on

  Our estimate of the hands-on minutes a recipe adds to a session you’re already cooking.

  What we mean

  Hands-on time only. Time in the oven or on the hob isn’t counted, and a first go may take longer. These are estimates, not timed test cooks.

• One batch makes 8 portions, in 1h start to finish.Example figure

  Based on

  The time stated in the recipe’s own method.

  What we mean

  Start to finish for one batch, including the waits.

• 24 portions in the freezer by teatime.

  Based on

  The worked example in how to plan a cook day: three dishes, eight portions each.

  What we mean

  One example afternoon. How long yours takes depends on your kitchen and what you cook.

Food and food safety

• Crisps from the peelings, oat bites from brown bananas.

  Based on

  The recipe’s ingredient list.

  What we mean

  Made at home from the ingredients listed, instead of bought ready made. We don’t call any food “healthy”.

• How we’d cook it, not advice.

  Based on

  Our own cooking. Where food safety or allergens come up, a government source, quoted and linked. (Allergens and food safety)

  What we mean

  Our recipes are our opinion. We don’t check them for allergens, so the label on what you buy is what counts.

• Nutrition for one portion.

  Based on

  Estimated from the nutrition data of each ingredient in the recipe.

  What we mean

  An estimate. We show it only when nearly every ingredient by weight has nutrition data, so a portion isn’t understated.

• “aim for a golden yellow colour or lighter when frying, baking, toasting or roasting starchy foods”

  Based on

  The Food Standards Agency, quoted word for word and linked. (Food Standards Agency)

  What we mean

  Food safety is only ever in the Food Standards Agency’s or the NHS’s own words. We don’t write our own.

Freezing, defrosting and reheating are in the Food Standards Agency’s words too, on how to freeze, defrost and reheat safely (Food Standards Agency).

The rules we follow

We check our claims against the UK’s rules for advertising and pricing: the CAP Code, which the Advertising Standards Authority applies, and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, with the Competition and Markets Authority’s guidance on it.

• Every figure has evidence behind it that we keep, dated, for as long as we show it.
• An estimate says it’s an estimate, and says what it’s based on, on the same screen.
• A comparison is like for like, and says what it compares.
• No “up to”, no yearly saving and no saving we haven’t measured for you.

Think something here is wrong, or out of date? Tell us and we’ll check it.