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Supermarket giant Tesco will be removing ‘Best Before’ dates from almost 70 fruit and vegetable products in a bid to slash food waste.
‘Best Before’ labels will be taken off apples, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, lemons and other citrus fruit among others.
Consumer confusion over what the labels mean led to Tesco deciding to ditch them. ‘Best Before’ dates mean the food is edible, but likely past its best – unlike ‘Use By’ dates which suggest eating the food after the date could pose a safety risk.
Research
Tesco said its decision was informed by research by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes [NFWI], which discovered that less than 50 percent of respondents knew what ‘best before’ dates means.
Tesco’s Head of Food Waste, Mark Little, said: “We know some customers may be confused by the difference between ‘Best Before’ and ‘Use By’ dates on food and this can lead to perfectly edible items being thrown away before they need to be discarded.
We have made this change to fruit and vegetable packaging as they are among the most wasted foods. Many customers have told us that they assess their fruit and vegetables by the look of the product rather than the ‘Best Before’ date code on the packaging.”
