Sainsbury's makes an 'out of ordinary' change to staple food available in UK stores from tomorrow

Pineapples are known for their large green leaves, called the crowns.

However, this is often thrown away at home rather than recycled, leading to food waste.

Sainsbury's will remove these before they hit shelves and sell crownless pineapples.

It will also take off all packaging on standard pineapples to further cut back on waste.

The retailer will recycle the crowns properly and they will either be replanted or used as animal feed by local farmers.

By recycling like this, Sainsbury's will help to reduce waste by around 700 tonnes a year.

Crownless pineapples are also easier to transport due to their smaller size.

Sainsbury's can fit more of these in boxes shipped to stores, meaning 2,500 fewer boxes can be transported each year.

The standard pineapples will be sold ready to eat, with no need to ripen at home.

Large pineapples will still be stocked with the crowns attached, giving customers the choice.

Director of product and innovation Claire Hughes said: “We’re passionate about reducing our impact on the planet wherever we can, and we're always looking for new and unique ways to make bold changes with sustainability in mind.

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"Our new crownless pineapples may look a little out of the ordinary but they offer very clear benefits in reducing waste and packaging.

"We hope that our customers will embrace the change with the knowledge that this quirky fruit is helping us to repurpose waste within our supply chain, as well as helping to reduce waste in their homes too.”

This comes as Sainsbury's changed 16 staple products in UK stores.

Shoppers will see several changes when visiting branches.