Morrisons scraps its ‘use by’ date on milk in favour of ‘best before’ tags

Morrisons is to turn out to be the primary British grocery store to scrap ‘use by’ dates on milk in a victory for The Mail on Sunday’s marketing campaign to slash meals waste.

The corporate will swap to ‘finest earlier than’ dates on 90 per cent of milk bottles and cartons from January 31 to encourage clients to bin it solely when it smells off – and see the date as not more than a information to freshness. 

The transfer – which the MoS referred to as for final yr in our Conflict On Meals Waste marketing campaign – will put different supermarkets beneath stress to do the identical.

The corporate will swap to ‘finest earlier than’ dates on 90 per cent of milk bottles and cartons from January 31 [File photo]

Whereas the swap could appear a delicate distinction, the distinction is important.

Beneath meals security guidelines, supermarkets put ‘use by’ dates on meat and different merchandise that pose a well being threat if consumed after a sure date.

The ‘finest earlier than’ label, in contrast, is for meals or drink that’s secure to devour after the date on its label, even when it now not tastes contemporary.

An MoS investigation final yr revealed households have been throwing away completely good foods and drinks value as a lot as £900 million every year as a result of supermarkets routinely put deceptive labels on fruit, greens and dairy gadgets.

Morrisons will take away ‘use by’ dates on own-brand British milk and that from Danish provider Arla, which collectively account for 90 per cent of its gross sales

Milk is the third most wasted foods and drinks product within the UK, with 490 million pints happening the drain every year. It additionally has the biggest carbon footprint of any foods and drinks as a result of farming concerned in manufacturing. 

One litre can account for as much as 4.5kg of CO2 being pumped into the environment – the equal of driving the typical petrol automotive for 16 miles.

College of Chester analysis discovered that milk from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons stored in a fridge at 4C was secure to drink seven days after its ‘use by’ date.

Morrisons will take away ‘use by’ dates on own-brand British milk and that from Danish provider Arla, which collectively account for 90 per cent of its gross sales.

New packaging will inform clients how they will inform if their milk has spoiled, together with sniffing it.

Many producers have launched ‘Look, Scent, Style, Don’t Waste’ labels urging customers to verify if milk has turned bitter – however till now no main grocery store has taken such a step.

Ian Goode, senior milk purchaser at Morrisons, mentioned: ‘Good high quality, well-kept milk has few days’ life after regular use-by dates, and we expect it must be consumed, not tipped down the sink. Generations earlier than us used the sniff take a look at – and I consider we are able to, too.’