Morrisons has become the first UK supermarket to scrap the “use by” dates on most of its milk in a bid to reduct food waste from the end of the month.
Instead, the Big 4 grocer will place “best before” dates on 90% of its own-brand milk and will encourage its customers to conduct a sniff test to check the quality.
Morrisons believes the move will stop millions of pints of milk being thrown out.
“Wasted milk means wasted effort by our farmers and unnecessary carbon being released into the atmosphere,” Morrisons senior milk buyer Ian Goode said.
“Good quality well-kept milk has a good few days life after normal ‘use by’ dates – and we think it should be consumed, not tipped down the sink.
“So, we’re taking a bold step today and asking customers to decide whether their milk is still good to drink. Generations before us have always used the sniff test – and I believe we can too.”
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Food waste charity Wrap has also praised the grocer for becoming the first supermarket to announce the move.
According to Wrap, milk is the third most wasted food and drink product in the UK, after potatoes and bread. It estimates around 490 million pints wasted every year.
It also believes around 85 million pints of milk waste may be due to customers following “use by” labels despite research showing it can be used days after the date.
Marcus Gover, of Wrap, added: “I am delighted that Morrisons is the first UK supermarket to take this important step to help reduce household food waste – it shows real leadership and we look forward to more retailers reviewing date labels on their products and taking action.”
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1 Comment. Leave new
This doesn’t go far enough, as most people that are guided by “use by” will regard “best before” as meaning the same. I am quite sure that Morrisons are aware of this and are just paying lip service to the government policy on food waste reduction.