Arla Foods is to become the first major dairy company to remove ‘use by’ dates on all its branded fresh milk and replace them with ‘best before’ dates in a move to help reduce food waste.
The company highlighted research that showed 59% of respondents assumed milk is unsafe to drink once the date has passed, with 14% admitting they would bin it without checking to see if it could still be used.
New ‘best before’ labels will roll-out across all of Arla’s branded fresh milk, including Cravendale, BOB and Goodness, with its entire yogurt portfolio also making the switch in 2020. Arla is calling on consumers to go online and vote for the label they want to see on milk bottles.
Fran Ball, Director of Quality, Environment and Safety, Arla Foods UK, said: “Our research shows that consumers are clearly confused about labelling on their food products, particularly when it comes to use by and best before dates.
“As a nation, we waste around 490 million pints of milk every year. By making some changes to the labels on our fresh milk and yogurts, we want to make people’s lives a little easier and help to cut food waste in the home…If changing the label gives people the confidence that their milk might still be ok for a few further days after the date on the bottle, we’ll all play a part in reducing food waste.”
