The Co-op has become the latest grocery retailer to remove ‘best before’ dates from many fruit and vegetables in a bid to reduce food waste.
The dates are being axed from more than 150 lines of fresh produce, including apples, oranges, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, onions and broccoli. A small number of more perishable products, or where it can be harder to use visual cues to establish the suitability to consume, will be excluded from the scheme.
The retailer pointed to product life testing by WRAP that shows that fruit and veg can be good to eat well beyond the best before date when stored correctly. The initiative will see the Co-op introduce on-pack guidance to highlight the optimum storage conditions to prolong product life.
Adele Balmforth, Propositions Director, Co-op, said: “As we face into a climate, environmental and cost-of-living crisis, we are committed to helping our customers cut food waste in the home and save money.
“Date codes can drive decisions in the home, and result in good food being thrown away – which has a cost to both people and to our planet. In addition to axing best before dates on fresh fruit and vegetables, our inclusion of storage instructions can also help products last longer and, sits alongside our simple on-pack message for shoppers – ‘If it still looks good enough to eat, it is!”
Tesco removed best before dates on many of its fruit and veg lines in 2018, while Aldi, Asda, M&S, Waitrose, and Sainsbury’s followed suit last year.
NAM Implications:
- Given that chilled fruit & Veg appear to last forever (?)…
- …then eliminating Best before dates should not cause problems.
- Thereby reducing in-shop wastage…
- Apparently a win for all?
- Back to the ‘smell test’ as the ultimate criterion?
