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How much food do you chuck out, and, more importantly, why? Apparently, we waste around a third of all food across the world. Many people bin food that is in their fridge or store cupboards because it has gone out of date.

You might see some of these labels written on food packaging in the UK, followed by a date:

'Sell by'

'Display until'

'Use by'

'Best before'

Many people will throw food away if any of these dates have passed. They worry that the food will become unsafe to eat and throw it out to be on the safe side. But what is the difference between these labels? Let's look at the labels in detail:

'Sell by' and 'display until' dates are for shop staff and don't relate to whether the food is safe to eat.

'Best before' dates refer to the quality of the food; after a while, it might not taste so good, but it could still be safe to eat. In other words, the food tastes best before a certain date.

The 'use by' date is perhaps the most important, as this tells us when the food stops being safe to eat.

Once you know what the dates mean, you are less likely to waste food that could be perfectly safe to eat.

Another good tip to avoid food waste is to make the most of leftovers. If you are prepared to experiment, you will soon become good at rustling up a meal from leftover vegetables, meat or pasta. Last night's dinner could be today's lunch!

Portion control is also important. Many of us cook too much food and end up throwing a lot of it away at the end of a meal. Understanding how to control portions, and weighing food can make a big difference.

Last night I managed to avoid a trip to the supermarket and created an experimental dinner. It had some vegetables from the night before, a little bit of leftover chicken, some rice that was in the cupboard and various dashes of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. It was tasty, cheap and nothing in my fridge had gone to waste.

As the old saying goes: Waste not, want not!