Grocery stores are reducing the use of labels like “best by” and “sell by” that many customers don’t understand in an effort to reduce food waste.
In the UK, several supermarket companies this year dropped various date labels on certain foods.
Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC, based in Bradford, England, removed the use-by dates on 90% of its own-brand milk in January, although the packs still have the use-by date. Many organizations use “Use By” to indicate the latest date a product is safe to consume, while “Best By” is an indicator of quality.
The milk remains safe to consume even after an expiration date, the retailer said, encouraging customers to smell the milk they have at home to see if it passes the sniff test. According to the company, milk is the third most wasted food in the UK, after potatoes and bread.
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Some retail executives said simplifying date labeling would clear up confusion among people who unnecessarily throw out food.
Brands & spencer group See the article : How to Kindly Return Food at a Restaurant.
PLC’s grocery business said last month it would eliminate date labels on 300 of its fruit and vegetable lines, expanding the practice from its loose produce to items that come in packages, such as grapes. Packaged products sold without date labels will have a code that store workers use to assess when to remove the products from the shelf, the company said.
Waitrose, the British supermarket owned by John Lewis Partnership PLC, said last week it would remove best-before dates on nearly 500 fresh produce products from September. Waitrose expects customers to use their own judgment when assessing freshness, rather than throwing away good-quality products simply because they’re no longer the best, said Ben Thomas, senior manager of sustainability and ethics, environment and food waste at John Lewis. Partnership. .
“This is not being introduced to benefit our bottom line,” Thomas said in an email. “This is solely due to our commitment to do the right thing.”
