Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has announced major changes to its date labels on packaging for 276 own brand products in a bid to help reduce food waste. From the end of this month, the retailer will begin the removal of ‘best before’ dates from a raft of fresh produce and a further 130 products will follow.
These upcoming changes could help UK households to save 11,000 tonnes of food each year, the equivalent of 17 million products. It follows similar moves by rivals including Waitrose, Tesco and Morrisons.
Additionally, Sainsbury’s will switch all ‘use by’ dates on own-brand yoghurts to ‘best before’ dates by the end of this year a move which will affect 46 product lines. Research from Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) revealed that 54,000 tonnes of yoghurt is wasted a year. For 70 per cent of this waste, the date label was cited as the reasons for throwing it away.
Kate Stein, director of technical at Sainsbury’s, said: “We know that around a third of all food produced for human consumption is either lost or wasted and food waste is one of the leading contributors of carbon emissions, which is why we’re committed to helping customers reduce waste at home. We also know that by avoiding unnecessary waste, we can help our customers save money by making their food shop last longer.
"The changes that we’re announcing today will do just that, giving customers more autonomy to make their own decisions on whether their food is good to eat, and preventing them from disposing of food too early.”
Catherine David, director of collaboration and change at WRAP, added: “WRAP is thrilled to see these changes on fruit, veg and yogurts to help tackle food waste in our homes. For fruit and veg, date labels are unnecessary and our research has shown that removing them can save the equivalent of seven million shopping baskets’ worth from our household bins a year.
"With yogurts, applying a ‘Best Before’ date rather than a ‘Use By’ date means that people can use their judgement to eat beyond that date. Storing most fruit and veg and all yoghurt products in the fridge, below 5C, will keep them fresher longer.
“We call on more retailers to make these changes. The average family in the UK throws away £700 worth of food a year – check out Love Food Hate Waste for tips on how to reduce food waste, save money and fight climate change.”
