Sainsbury’s joins UK supermarket movement to ditch “best before” dates to slash food waste

31 Aug 2022 --- Sainsbury’s, the second largest supermarket chain in the UK, will remove its best before dates at the end of August. The company will eliminate these labels from 1,500 items, in a move that is projected to save up to 17 million food product waste each year. 

This announcement follows a current trend in the UK of grocery stores removing their best-by-dates. Waitrose & Partners got rid of their “best before” dates earlier this month.

This action supports Sainbury’s ambition of halving its food waste by 2030.

“By avoiding unnecessary waste, we can help our customers save money by making their food last longer,” remarks Kate Stein, director of technical at Sainsbury’s.

“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.”

However, even with the anticipated savings in food waste, some people are still not sold and are worried that alternative methods may need to be adopted.

The benefits of removing best before dates 
Recent reports from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) reveal that removing date labels from the most wasted fresh produce items, such as broccoli, apples, potatoes and cucumber, can cut annual household food waste by 50,000 tonnes.

Yet, when it comes to yogurt, Sainsbury’s will be switching from “use by” to “best before” to encourage extended product use. 

WRAP claimed that 54,000 tonnes of yogurt are wasted per year. They cited that the date was the reason for 70% of the waste. Similarly, around half of the yogurt thrown away yearly is unopened.

“Wasting food feeds climate change and costs us money. The right date label, or no date label, has a big influence on what we use and what we throw away,” says Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change at WRAP. 

UK supermarkets continue to remove their "best before" dates.The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has reported that “use-by” dates are linked to food safety. Foods with that label are unsafe to consume after the written date, whereas “best before” refers to quality. 

Sainsbury’s predicts that removing their best before dates could help UK households save 11,000 metric tons of food per year. 

“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,” says Stein. 

What skeptics have to say 
Some people have suspicions about whether removing the best before dates will genuinely have an impact on food waste. 

Canadian researcher Dr. Keith Warriner, from the department of food science at Ontario Agricultural College, says that getting rid of best-by dates only means that another form for fresh detecting will have to be adopted. 

If the food is labeless, then some believe that consumers will look for other ways to know their food is safe to eat. 

Alternative paths to keep the foods fresh could have to be implemented. These methods could slow down the ripening process of the product and deactivate spoilage microbes, says Warriner. 

Additionally, stores can also use technologies to increase shelf life, but Warriner states that neither retailers nor consumers have favored these methods in the past. 

Looking to the future
A recent study conducted by Cornell University found that consumers are willing to support QR codes to understand how long milk is safe for consumption. Over 60% of buyers gravitated toward the QR code, which showed a best-by date rather than just having it on the label. 

Scientists from the study claim that consumers are interested in using new technology, which has innovative potential in combating food waste. 

“With changes like these, together, we can all play our part in tackling the climate crisis and protecting the planet for generations to come,” concludes David.

Edited by Sabine Waldeck