Tesco to remove ‘Best Before’ dates from selected fruit and veg lines
Tesco is to take ‘Best Before’ consumption guidance dates off nearly 70 fruit and vegetable lines as it looks to help reduce food waste.
With the move made to help prevent still edible food from being thrown away, it follows recent research by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes which found that less than half of respondents understood the meaning of ‘Best Before’ dates.
However, more than 70% of those polled by NFWI correctly identified the meaning of ‘Use By’ labels which are required to be put on all foods where there is a safety risk if they are eaten after that date.
Tesco head of food waste Mark Little said: “We know some customers may be confused by the difference between ‘Best Before’ and ‘Use By’ dates on food and this can lead to perfectly edible items being thrown away before they need to be discarded.
“We have made this change to fruit and vegetable packaging as they are among the most wasted foods.
“Many customers have told us that they assess their fruit and vegetables by the look of the product rather than the ‘Best Before’ date code on the packaging.”
The fruit and vegetable lines include apples, potatoes, tomatoes, citrus fruit and onions.
