A new mobile phone app is launching today catering for the surge of people searching recipes for leftovers online.

British supermarket Sainsbury’s and search engine giant Google teamed up on the app to cut cooks’ food waste.

New data from Google reveals searches for recipes have jumped by a third compared to last year and 64% of those searches were done on-the-go via mobile devices.

Waste body WRAP estimates 4.2 million tonnes of avoidable food and drink is still chucked away each year, leading to the average family losing out on £60 each month.

The new app called ‘Sainsbury’s Food Rescue’ lets users say or type in up to nine ingredients to get recipe inspiration from more than 1,200 choices.

Sarah Warby, Marketing Director of Sainsbury’s said: “Shopping habits have really changed. Families are savvier than ever, looking for practical help to make the most of the food in their cupboards and fridges.”

Indy Saha, Director of Creative Strategy at Google added: “Using our voice search technology, the Food Rescue tool allows Sainsbury’s customers to use up the food that they might otherwise throw away.”

There’s a competitive element to the app too – it will record the weight of food saved as well as the cash saved per completed recipe, sending this to a leaderboard to show which regions across the UK are “rescuing” the most food.

Ms Warby added: “We know that confidence and know-how can really help people reduce the amount of food they throw away.”