Sainsbury’s has become the latest supermarket to remove ‘best before’ dates from fresh produce to help with industry efforts to reduce food waste.
The retailer has already removed best before dates from over 1,500 lines, including bananas, apples and indoor plants. Sainsbury’s has now begun removing the dates on fresh fruit and vegetables, including pears, onions, tomatoes, and lemons, covering 230 lines in total.
The retailer stated that the changes could help households to save 11,000 tonnes of food each year, the equivalent of 17 million products. An on-pack message ‘no date helps reduce waste’ will instead be present across the fresh produce where the label changes come into play.
Additionally, Sainsbury’s will switch all ‘use by’ dates on its own-label yoghurts to ‘best before’ dates by the end of this year, a move which will affect 46 product lines. Research from WRAP shows that 54,000 tonnes of yoghurt is wasted a year. For 70% of this waste, the date label was cited as the reason for throwing it away.
These changes are part of the retailer’s commitment to halve its food waste by 2030 and support its ongoing work with farmers and growers to reduce food waste in its supply chain, sending surplus food from stores to charity food donation partners and recovering energy from waste.
Kate Stein, Director of Technical at Sainsbury’s, said: “We know that around a third of all food produced for human consumption is either lost or wasted, and food waste is one of the leading contributors of carbon emissions, accounting for a staggering 8-10% of GHG emissions globally, which is why we’re committed to helping customers reduce waste at home.
“We also know that by avoiding unnecessary waste, we can help our customers save money by making their food shop last longer. The changes that we’re announcing today will do just that, giving customers more autonomy to make their own decisions on whether their food is good to eat, and preventing them from disposing of food too early. With changes like these, together, we can all play our part in tackling the climate crisis and protecting the planet for generations to come.”
In recent weeks, Asda, Marks & Spencer, and Waitrose have also announced plans to remove best before labels on hundreds of fresh lines.
