Sniff don’t scrap: Morrisons ditching “use by” dates from Arla-supplied milk in push to cut food waste

12 Jan 2022 --- Each year, an estimated 490 million pints of milk is wasted in the UK, according to Morrisons. The supermarket chain is now making a push to scrap “Use By” dates on 90% of its own brand milk – and encourage its customers to use a sniff test – to help to reduce food waste in the home. 

The company anticipates the move will stop millions of pints of its own brand milk from being thrown away every year. It is to be the first UK supermarket to switch to “Best Before” dates only.

“This is only applicable to milk supplied by Arla from their dairies, and we will be investigating whether this would be possible over our whole range,” a Morrisons spokesperson tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“Use By” dates will be scrapped from Morrisons own brand British and Scottish milks, Morrisons For Farmers milks and Morrisons organic milks in store.

Morrisons South West milk and The Best Jersey milk are yet to be converted.

“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,” remarks Ian Goode, senior milk buyer at Morrisons.

“So we’re taking a bold step 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.”

Promoting the sniff test
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, cites Morrisons. 

One liter of milk can account for up to 4.5 kg of carbon emissions.In addition, milk has the largest carbon footprint of these food and drink products because its production is so resource-intensive. One liter of milk can account for up to 4.5 kg of carbon emissions.

Research shows fresh milk can often last a number of days past the “Use By” date shown on the bottle. However, UK consumers are routinely throwing away milk – as they incorrectly believe the milk is unsafe to drink.

Environmental sustainability charity WRAP estimates that 85 million pints of milk waste may be a result of customers sticking to “Use By” labels or “once opened use within” guidance in the UK each year – when products may still be good to consume.

Morrisons will instead encourage its customers to use a simple sniff test to check if their milk is still good to consume. 

“Applying a Best Before date to indicate quality on all other products means people have longer to use their food,” comments Marcus Gover, CEO at WRAP.

A wasteful misconception
The new milk packaging will show “Best Before” dates to indicate to customers when they should drink it by – to get the best taste. Unlike some other fresh products, drinking milk after a “Best Before” date is not a food safety issue, stresses Morrisons.

Morrisons has already scrapped “Use By” dates across some of its own-brand yogurt and hard cheese ranges in 2020.

Morrisons has committed to reducing food waste in stores by 50% by 2030.

The company states that it takes great care in considering when products are close to their “Use By” or “Best Before” date, they are offered to customers at reduced prices.” 

When waste does occur, Morrisons “Unsold Food” program works with a range of partners including Too Good to Go, The Bread and Butter Thing and local food banks, charities and community groups, to ensure food can be redistributed. 

Where food cannot be redistributed, Morrisons use anaerobic digestion to generate electricity, which in turn contributes to renewable energy generation across the UK.

“Making improvements to labeling forms an important part of WRAP’s efforts under the Courtauld Commitment 2030 to reduce household food waste. It is fantastic to see Morrisons, as a Courtauld signatory, making this change – giving people the confidence to use their judgment and consume more of the milk they buy.”

By Benjamin Ferrer