In the UK in 2024, we can expect to throw away over 9.5 million tonnes of food and drink, most of which could have been eaten. In normal circumstances, this is a huge amount of food waste, but now it’s even more important to make our food last longer. So, how closely do we need to adhere to food labelling in order to ensure we're following safe practices without excess waste?
Our food can be labelled with ‘sell by’, ‘display until’, ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates to help guide us on how to sell and use food and drink. The dates for us to pay attention to are ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates – ‘sell by’ and ‘display until’ dates are only for shop staff to use for stock control, so we don’t need to think about these.
What’s important for us to remember is that ‘use by’ dates are set for our safety on food that goes off quickly, such as fish, meat and ready-to-eat salads. Foods must be eaten until midnight on the ‘use by’ date as long as we’ve carefully followed the storage instructions on the packaging. The good news is that if a food can be frozen, its life can be extended beyond the ‘use by’ date, but we should still follow the packaging instructions such as ‘cook from frozen’ or ‘defrost thoroughly before use’.
‘Best before’ dates are set as a guide for us regarding the quality of food and appear widely on frozen, dried and tinned foods, and also on some fresh produce like potatoes and onions. To keep it at its optimum quality it’s best to follow the storage instructions on the label. Eventually, it will begin to lose its flavour and texture, but we don’t need to immediately throw it away, we can rely on our senses and instincts.
There are many ways to make our food last longer, and if we all follow these tips we can save money, save waste and save time!
Nutritionist Beth Furness (ANutr), holding a BSc in Nutrition and Health, is deeply dedicated to applying evidence-based knowledge to all aspects of nutrition. Her passion lies in fostering healthy relationships with food, ensuring that everyone maintains a balanced and sustainable approach to nutrition.
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