Millions of tons of edible food are thrown away every year. A scourge partly caused by a simple label on all food packaging: the recommended use by date. To combat this economic AND ecological aberration, a British supermarket chain has taken a decisive and concrete decision…
“Best before” (or “Best before” in English). We are all familiar with this designation that is present on the products that are sold in the trade. But what exactly happens after this date? Usually nothing at all. You can indeed imagine that the feed does not go from one to the other. other day, but that the taste and/or nutritional quality may deteriorate.
Because food is still edible after its best-before date, British supermarkets Waitrose have simply decided to remove the confusing label. This decision concerns almost 500 fresh products, mainly packaged fruit and vegetables. Objective ? “Reducing food waste in UK households by encouraging customers to stay healthy”as can be read further 20 minutes. As a reminder, the British throw away more than 4.5 million tons of edible food every year.
Please note that the ‘best before’ label is different from the ‘use by’ label (meaning ‘use before’). Unlike the first, which is just a simple recommendation, the second is absolutely necessary because it’s on perishable products that can pose health risks.
With this decision, supermarket chain Waitrose hopes to save the equivalent of 7 million baskets of food from the trash.