Best before dates are only put on food as a guideline for when they will go bad, however they are only a guideline. Use by dates are different, as food that goes past these dates has the potential to make you very ill.
British supermarket chain, Asda has removed the best before dates on around 200 fresh fruit and vegetable products. The plan has been put in place in order to reduce food waste, as it should discourage people from throwing out edible food.
The removal of these dates means consumers will be able to make their own decisions on whether a food product has gone bad without being told by a label. As the UK is going through a cost-of-living crisis, this will also stop the waste of perfectly edible food, meaning households are more likely to use their produce, rather than buying new, when they have food that is still ok to eat.
As the UK is going through a cost-of-living crisis, this will also stop the
waste of perfectly edible food…
Asda have also gone a step further by adding information to their website regarding how to store your fruit and vegetables and how to check whether they are still suitable for consumption.
These changes are not the first sustainable change Asda has made as the supermarket established a partnership with FareShare in 2018. Due to this partnership, Asda have announced that they send none of their waste to landfill and that any surplus food and stock is redistributed.
Asda isn’t the first supermarket chain to ditch the best before dates as Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Waitrose have already removed the labels on many of the fresh fruit and vegetables. Due to the scheme working other supermarkets are following, with Sainsbury’s to remove its best before labels soon.
