Hundreds of fresh products on sale at Sainsbury's and Asda will see a major change to their packaging that comes into force starting from today.
The two supermarket giants recently confirmed they would be dropping the 'best before' labels from a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables in a bid to combat food waste. From today, Asda will be dropping the dates from a host of nearly 250 packaged fresh produce products, including citrus fruits, potatoes, cauliflowers and carrots.
Similarly, Sainsbury's announced it will be axing the dates from a whole host of fresh fruit and vegetables, including pears, onions, tomatoes, and citrus fruits from over 100 product lines, with a further 130 products including potatoes to follow.
The two retailers are following in the footsteps of Waitrose, M&S and Tesco who have all introduced similar initiatives in a bid to help households stop throwing out food during the cost of living crisis.
But what is the difference between 'best before' and 'use by' dates, and why are supermarkets suddenly dropping them? Here is everything you need to know.
What is a best before date?
According to The Food Standards Agency (FSA), 'best before dates' refer to the quality of the food and not the overall safety.
You can still eat foods that have passed by their marked 'best before' date, the taste and texture might not be as good as it was when within the date.
Best before dates appear on a wide range of foods including:
- frozen foods (such as peas, chips and ice cream)
- dried foods (such as pasta and rice)
- tinned foods (such as baked beans and canned tomatoes)
The best before date will only be accurate if the food is stored according to the instructions on the packaging.
What is a use by date?
Unlike the 'best before' dates, a 'use by' date refers to the safety of the food and it is the most important label to understand and remember.
You can still eat food up to and on the marked date but not after, as this means it could be unsafe to eat and/or drink.
These dates are usually found on most products that tend to go off quickly, such as meat and ready to eat salads.
Why are supermarkets dropping 'best before' labels?
Supermarkets have begun scrapping the 'best before' dates in a bid to help households combat food waste and climate change, following criticism from a climate action group.
Asda's dates will now be replaced with a code that can be scanned by store colleagues to ensure the highest quality and freshness is maintained. Sainsbury's dates will be replaced with an on-pack message that will read "no date helps reduce waste" across the variety of fresh produce affected by the change.
In addition to the date changes, Sainsbury's has also announced it will be switching the 'use by' dates to 'best before' dates across a variety of their own-branded yoghurts. The supermarket hopes that it will give customers the option to make the decision that the product is good to eat passed the date.
Both supermarkets have joined the movement to ditch labels after The Waste Action and Resource Programme (WRAP) criticised the dates for being "unnecessary" and "contributing to climate change."
WRAP estimates that 70% of the 6.6 million tonnes of food thrown away from UK households every year could have been eaten if correct judgement had been used.
Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change at WRAP, said: " Our research has shown that date labels on fruit and veg are unnecessary – getting rid of them can prevent the equivalent of 7 million shopping baskets’ worth from our household bins. Storing most fruit and veg products in the fridge, below 5 degrees, will keep them fresher longer.
"We know that wasting food feeds climate change and costs us money. The influence of no date label or the right date label on what we use and what we throw away is huge."
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