Tesco to scrap 'best before' labels on 116 more fruit and vegetables

The supermarket has said it hopes the move will reduce food waste
AFP/Getty Images
Jacob Jarvis8 October 2018

Tesco is removing "best before" dates from 116 more varieties of fruit and vegetables to “prevent perfectly edible food from being thrown away”.

The supermarket chain said this is in reaction to feedback from customers who believe not having such labels on food helps them reduce waste.

This follows an announcement earlier in 2018, when the UK supermarket giant removed best before dates from 70 items.

Food after its best before date may still be fine to eat as it is a measure of quality not safety.

Tesco said it has conducted surveys which support the move
AFP/Getty Images

Announcing the latest move Tesco’s head of food waste reduction, Mark Little, said: "Removing best before dates is our way of making it easier for customers to reduce food waste at home and save money in the process.

“It’s simply not right that food goes to waste and we’re going to do everything we can to help.”

Apples, oranges, cabbages and asparagus will be among the products to have the best before labels removed.

The store's announcement said: "This is part of Tesco’s commitment to reduce food waste, helping to prevent perfectly edible food from being thrown away as a part of its farm to fork approach to tackling food waste."

Statistics from Tesco research said that 69 per cent of its customers believing scrapping best before dates is a good idea, while 53 per cent said doing so helps them “keep perfectly good food for longer”.

According to government body Wrap, some £13 billion of edible food is thrown away each year.

Detailing the difference between use by and best before, advice from the Food Standards agency states: “A use-by date on food is about safety. This is the most important date to remember. Foods can be eaten until the use-by date but not after.

“The best before date, sometimes shown as BBE, is about quality and not safety. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best.”

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