Aldi removes use-by dates on fresh milk ranges to help cut food waste

Aldi has revealed that it is removing ‘Use By’ dates from its fresh milk to help reduce food waste.

The German discounter will instead begin using ‘Best Before’ dates on milk bottles – except for filtered milk – across its stores to prevent milk from being thrown away unnecessarily.

The changes will start rolling out in stores by the end of the year, and is the latest move in Aldi’s efforts to cut its food waste, as it works towards its goal of halving this by 2030.

According to waste reduction charity WRAP, nearly 300,000 tonnes of milk is wasted by UK households each year.

Britain’s fourth largest supermarket is instead encouraging shoppers to perform a ‘sniff test’ to determine whether their milk is still fit to consume – providing it has been stored correctly.

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Aldi has already removed Best Before dates from around 60 fresh fruit and vegetable lines – including apples and pears, citrus fruits, potatoes, carrots and onions.

The retailer also recently introduced clear caps on its milk bottles to improve recyclability.

Sustainability director at Aldi UK, Liz Fox, said: “We are constantly working to be a more sustainable retailer and we are dedicated to preventing food waste wherever we can, both in our stores and helping customers throw away less food at home.

“We hope shoppers embrace this change and look, smell, and taste their milk to see if it’s still fine to use, so together we can reduce the effect food waste has on the environment,” she said.