What food do you throw away most often—and why?

Food waste rarely feels like one big decision.

It is usually a forgotten yoghurt, half a bag of vegetables, leftovers pushed behind something else, or an ingredient bought for a recipe that never happened.

But those small moments add up.

While building ExpiryMate, I started thinking less about expiry dates themselves and more about why perfectly usable food becomes invisible.

Is it because:

• We forget what is already at home?

• Food gets hidden at the back of the fridge?

• We buy more than we can use?

• Plans change during the week?

• We do not know what to cook with the ingredients left?

• Expiry dates are difficult to track?

ExpiryMate helps by showing what should be used first, sending reminders and suggesting meals from available ingredients. It also records waste so you can see which items, food categories and storage areas are being wasted most often, helping reveal patterns that are otherwise easy to miss.

The goal is not only to record that food was thrown away, but to understand what keeps happening and why.

What food gets wasted most often in your home?

And more importantly: what usually causes it?

I’m especially curious whether the biggest problem is forgetting, overbuying, poor meal planning, or simply not having enough time to use everything.