Shoppers have taken to social media to social media to express their anger over Waitrose announcing its decision to remove its best before dates from nearly 500 of its fresh and vegetables.

In a bid to reduce food waste, the dates on packaged fruit and vegetables will be scrapped from September, encouraging customers to use their own judgments to decide if the food is still fine to eat.

“By removing best before dates from our products, we want our customers to use their own judgment to decide whether a product is good to eat or not, which in turn will increase its chances of being eaten and not becoming waste,” John Lewis Partnership’s director of sustainability and ethics Marija Rompani.

However, the move has been branded as an “absolute con”, with customers saying it is a money making scheme for the supermarket.

READ MORE: Waitrose rolls out HFSS signage ahead of new legislation

One social media user asked: “Does that mean they [Waitrose] can sell your stuff for full price that you would normally get in the reduced price section”

Does that mean they can sell you stuff for full price that you would normally get in the reduced price section,

— AG (@redamberblack) August 1, 2022

Another social media user said: “I smell supermarket bullshit. In the UK, most of our fruit & veg comes wrapped in plastic so we can’t ‘smell check’ quality. If they were so worried about the green cost, they would have done away with the packaging. This is a way of screwing the shopper.”

I smell supermarket bullshit.
In the UK, most of our fruit & veg comes wrapped in plastic so we can't 'smell check' quality. If they were so worried about the green cost, they would have done away with the packaging. This is a way of screwing the shopper. https://t.co/3j1XE8TvBi

— Hallie Rubenhold (@HallieRubenhold) August 1, 2022

A customer added that she has “never thrown so much unexpectedly mushy or furry food away” since Marks and Spencers removed best before dates.

“It’s a useful guide to how old the food is before I buy it. Things that seem ok and are rotten the next day,” she said.

Oh god now @waitrose is dropping ‘best before’ on fresh food. I have never thrown so much unexpectedly mushy or furry food away than since @marksandspencer removed dates. It’s a useful guide to how old the food is before I buy it! Things that seem ok and are rotten the next day.

— Laura Lee Davies (@LauraLeeDavies) August 1, 2022

“Unless we have decent food education, this will lead to more food waste, not less,” another customer said.

Others even questioned if the move was “illegal”.

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