Morrisons is scrapping ‘use by’ dates on most of its milk range in a move designed to reduce waste.
Instead, the retailer will put a ‘best before’ date on 90% of its own-label milk and encourage customers to use a sniff test to check if it’s still usable.
Figures from food waste charity Wrap suggest that milk is the third most wasted food and drink product in the UK, after potatoes and bread, with around 490 million pints wasted every year. It is estimated 85 million pints of milk waste may be due to customers following ‘use by’ labels, despite research showing it can be used safely days after the date.
Morrisons stated that milk does not need to be labelled as perishable food and the move could save seven million pints of its own-label milk being poured away each year.
Ian Goode, Senior Milk Buyer at Morrisons, commented: “Wasted milk means wasted effort by our farmers and unnecessary carbon being released into the atmosphere.
“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.”
