Grocery stores are restricting the use of labels such as “best-for” and “sell to”, which many customers do not understand, in order to reduce food waste.
In the UK, several supermarkets have dropped different date labels on certain foods this year.
Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC, based in Bradford, England, removed the use-by dates from 90% of its own brand milk in January, although the packages still have a use-by date. Use By is used by many organizations to indicate the last date that a product is safe to eat, while Best Before is an indicator of quality.
The milk is still safe to consume even past its use-by date, the seller said, urging customers to sniff the milk they have at home to see if it passes the sniff test. Milk is the third most wasted food in the UK, after potatoes and bread, according to the company.
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Some retail executives said simplifying date labeling would clear up confusion among people who unnecessarily throw out food.
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Food company PLC last month said it would abandon date labels on its 300 fruit and vegetable lines, extending the practice from loose products to packaged products such as grapes. Packaged products sold unlabeled with the date will instead contain a code that store employees will use to judge when to remove products from the shelf, the company said.
Waitrose, UK supermarket owned by John Lewis Partnership PLC, said last week it will remove best-by-date dates from nearly 500 fresh produce as of September. Waitrose hopes customers will use their own judgment when evaluating freshness, rather than throwing away good quality products just because they have passed their so-called bests, said Ben Thomas, senior manager of sustainability and ethics, environment and food waste at John Lewis Partnership.
“It is not being introduced to benefit our profits,” Thomas said in an email. “It’s only because of our commitment to do the right thing.”
