Aldi has announced plans to remove best before dates from around 60 of its own brand products in a bid to help cut down on food waste in homes. By the end of the year, Britain’s fifth largest supermarket says it will remove best before dates from around 60 fresh fruit and veg lines - including apples and pears, citrus fruits, potatoes, carrots and onion - which could help households to save on food waste each year.
The move forms part of Aldi’s plans to reduce food waste by 20 per cent by 2025 and halve it by 2030. As part of its food waste reduction programme, the supermarket has partnered with Neighbourly to donate 700,000 meals during the summer holidays.
It has also partnered with surplus food app Too Good To Go in some stores, which sees products that are approaching their use-by date packed into ‘Magic Bags’ which customers can buy for £3.30 each via the Too Good To Go app, before collecting them from the store.
Liz Fox, Corporate Responsibility Director at Aldi UK, said: “One of the reasons we are the UK’s cheapest supermarket is because we cut down on waste wherever we see it.
“And by getting rid of these dates on packaging, we can help customers get even better value by reducing the amount of food that goes to waste at home.
“This latest step, together with our partnerships with Neighbourly and Too Good To Go, is all part of our efforts to provide affordable, sustainable and responsible products for all our customers.”
Aldi's not the only supermarket to have recently announced plans to scrap best before dates. Asda said that from September 1, the dates on 250 fresh fruit and veg products would be removed to help customers save money and stop waste.
Sainsbury's has already removed best before dates from more than a thousand lines, but is extending that plan across hundreds more products including fruit, dairy and vegetables. Tesco, M&S, Co-op, Morrisons and Waitrose have also made similar changes.
