UK scraps sell-by dates on food products

14-Sep-2011 - Last updated on 15-Sep-2011 at 12:02 GMT

The use of 'sell-by' dates on foods will be scrapped in the UK from today.

New UK rules are set to remove ‘display until’ and ‘sell-by’ date labels from food packaging, in a bid to reduce food wastage after ministers decided that the extra dates on packaging can lead to consumer confusion.

The UK’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) today issued guidance on food date labelling for UK manufacturers and retailers, stating that products should only be labelled with one date – either a ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date. The new regulations advises manufacturers that the use of ‘sell-by’ and ‘display until’ dates should be avoided because many people do not understand the meaning of the labels and mistakenly believe that products are no longer safe to consume.

Such date labels, which are only used for stock control reasons but are estimated to lead to over £12bn GBP of unnecessary wastage every year, should no longer be used say DEFRA.

Barbara Gallani, director of food safety and science for the UK based Food and Drink Federation said that the DEFRA guidance will provide an additional tool for manufacturers to use to help consumers in their fight against food waste.

She said that the continued use of 'use by' and 'best before' date markings provide “very valuable information for consumers on product safety and quality” and encouraged manufacturers to apply best practice “when deciding on the most appropriate labelling for a specific product.”

Consumer confusion?

Defra said that five million tonnes of edible food is discarded by UK households annually – with many experts and critics citing confusion over when food products are unusable as the major contributor. Indeed, the UK environment secretary Caroline Spelman said that confusion over food labelling is estimated to be responsible for around £750million GBP of the £12bn good food wasted each year.

"We want to end the food labelling confusion and make it clear once and for all when food is good and safe to eat," said Spelman, adding that an important step is to remove confusing stock rotation information - such as sell-by dates - from packaging altogether.

Liz Redmond, head of hygiene and microbiology at the UK Food Standards Agency said that the new guidance “will give greater clarity to the food industry on which date mark should be used on their products while maintaining consumer protection."

Gallani added that “as research from WRAP suggests, shoppers are still confused by the difference between 'use by' and 'best before', meaning that there is a significant challenge around consumer understanding."

“Food and drink manufacturers have had a long-standing commitment to reducing waste and energy use. Equally, safety is paramount for food and drink business operators and companies will continue to look for ways to improve shelf-life calculations with the aim of helping consumers minimise any unnecessary food wastage,” she said.

All change?

The new rules were drawn up following a consultation by the Defra with supermarkets, manufacturers, consumer groups, regulators, and waste reduction groups.

The guidance states that a ‘best before’ date should still be carried on most foods, including tinned and dry goods, jams, pickles and snacks, to indicate when they are no longer at the best but are still safe to eat. It adds that only food which is unsafe to eat after a certain date - such as soft cheese, meat, fish, eggs and ready meals - should carry a ‘use by’ label.