Democorruptcy Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Best before labels reach their sell-by date in food waste crackdown The "best before" dates on food packaging are set to be scrapped in a drive by ministers to stop millions of tonnes of perfectly edible produce being thrown away each year. Bread would carry much simpler labels where potential risks of food poisoning would be minimal New guidelines are expected to be unveiled which will provide better information for shoppers and make them far more reluctant to chuck out food before it is even opened, potentially saving households hundreds of pounds a year. The Sunday Telegraph has learned that the coalition wants an end to the confusing proliferation of instructions on food labelling which have greatly expanded over the past decade. Instead of marking food "best before" a certain date, retailers will in future have to produce labels which give details of the health risks associated with individual foods that remain on shelves or in the fridge for a lengthy period before being consumed. Prawns and eggs, for example, would be more likely, under the new guidelines, to carry detailed warnings of potential risks of food poisoning if they were eaten after a certain date. Bread, however, where risks would be minimal, would carry much simpler labels. In particular, ministers are targeting "best before" and "sell by" labels, which they blame in particular for food being thrown away while it is still perfectly fine to eat. Some sort of "use by" dates, however, are expected to be retained. A coalition source said: "Staples like mushroom and tomatoes are routinely marked 'best before' when all that happens when they reach these dates is that the food loses a bit of colour or goes a bit soft. We cannot carry on simply throwing away tonnes of food like this." Households in Britain dump 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink a year most of it ending up in landfill, according to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). The programme estimates that more than 5million tonnes of this is edible. Dumped food each day in Britain includes 5 million potatoes, 4.4 million apples, a million loaves of bread and a million slices of ham, WRAP estimates. Wasting food is thought to cost the average family with children £680 a year - with households throwing as much as a quarter of all their food and drink purchases. Critics have also placed part of the blame on supermarkets offering "buy-one-get-one-free", multi-buy deals known as BOGOF offers. The Local Government Association has also complained that deals on products with a short shelf life, including fruit and vegetables, mean shoppers throw away large amounts. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/8455887/Best-before-labels-reach-their-sell-by-date-in-food-waste-crackdown.html Good news for supermarkets? No need to reduce the price of items approaching their best before or use by dates? We just have to pay more for something that might not be edible and that is supposed to save food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RentingForever Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Good news for supermarkets? No need to reduce the price of items approaching their best before or use by dates? We just have to pay more for something that might not be edible and that is supposed to save food? Replacing "best before" and "sell by" labels with a "use by" label also means they get to keep them on the shelves for longer. So a win for the supermarkets. Having said that, the amount that people I know throw away because it is a day over its "best before" date is appalling. So it's a win for the environment too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonkers Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Why do carrots, potatoes, onions and the like EVER get prepacked anyway? Is there really best before dates on toms and mushrooms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Why do carrots, potatoes, onions and the like EVER get prepacked anyway? Is there really best before dates on toms and mushrooms? and why do half a dozen potatoes from the supermarket sprout within a week, yet I had some home growns took them 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffneck Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 This is a step backwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffneck Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Why do carrots, potatoes, onions and the like EVER get prepacked anyway? Is there really best before dates on toms and mushrooms? i have seen them pre pack bananas here whats the point making a massive fuss over banning plastic bags when the bags make up less than 5% of the plastic from a trip to the supermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Why do carrots, potatoes, onions and the like EVER get prepacked anyway? Is there really best before dates on toms and mushrooms? Sweaty plastic makes them rot more quickly.....you only have to look, feel and smell to tell if it is past its use before date...common sense....almost all the stuff is good to use after the best before date if it is examined and cooked correctly........the good food that is wasted by the big supermarkets is a sacrilege. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockslinger Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Good news for supermarkets? No need to reduce the price of items approaching their best before or use by dates? We just have to pay more for something that might not be edible and that is supposed to save food? Frankly I'm amazed you ask. What do you think? Who lobbied for this I wonder...the pensioners who come in at the end of the day to pick up the cheaper stuff? Fu3king "food waste" is the problem, is it? Course it is, particularly when you need to sell this idea to a dumb public and make it sound all green. "Use by" won't be a problem for the profiteers for much longer because the same caring family orientated earth rapists who engineered this change (and the imminent end to the "traffic light" health advice on packaging) will also get the law on preservatives and irradiation of fresh food changed shortly too. Tesco will keep you safe, don't worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 It is amazing how many people lack commonsense and depend on best before dates. Mushrooms are a good point - just one look will tell you how long they are going to last. They turn to mush pretty quick so you have to be a wally if you need a date to work it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Democorruptcy Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Frankly I'm amazed you ask. What do you think? Who lobbied for this I wonder...the pensioners who come in at the end of the day to pick up the cheaper stuff? Fu3king "food waste" is the problem, is it? Course it is, particularly when you need to sell this idea to a dumb public and make it sound all green. "Use by" won't be a problem for the profiteers for much longer because the same caring family orientated earth rapists who engineered this change (and the imminent end to the "traffic light" health advice on packaging) will also get the law on preservatives and irradiation of fresh food changed shortly too. Tesco will keep you safe, don't worry. Tesco shares up in the morning..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Households in Britain dump 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink a year most of it ending up in landfill, that bit got the alarm bells ringing that this isn't for the good of the public. a few tomatoes or mushrooms in landfill isn't a big deal, it'll degrade withing weeks. so just what is the 'out-of-date' stuff that's getting chucked? cardboard carton ready meals per chance? so as has been already said on this thread, the malls get to sell us undated goods and nothing ever gets knocked down in price. and when things deteriorate they do so quickly. the farmers markets/shops are getting increasingly appealing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olebrum Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 The supermarkets are already selling dodgy looking food, this will just legitimise it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamdamosuzuki Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Don't shop anything like as much in the supermarkets these days anyway. Tesco can bog off. Small retailers and discounters are thriving at the mo, by the look of it. Sainsburys is empty. And no wonder - 3 wee leeks in a polystyrene case, 2 quid 'because you're worth it'. Absolute joke. Once you realise what a con it is it puts you off completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fadeaway Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Darn, I love those. They always mean stuff gets reduced. Nabbed a sandwich from boots for 75p and a punnet of strawberries for £1 from M&S today for lunch. If there's one thing in this world I don't mind paying for, it's nice food. At the end of the day you are what you eat, and if everything else turns to shit - you still have yourself & your health. I buy fresh organic (actual blood red meat.. not the crappy soft pink stuff you get from tesco) meat/fish from butchers/farms or waitrose/m&s, over £15 a week on fresh fruit/juice/smoothies and exercise regularly. I'm not too picky about best before dates, but I will pick items with the longest dates on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Darn, I love those. They always mean stuff gets reduced. Nabbed a sandwich from boots for 75p and a punnet of strawberries for £1 from M&S today for lunch. counted 30 flowers on my roughly 4 feet strawberry plantation already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fadeaway Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 counted 30 flowers on my roughly 4 feet strawberry plantation already In my last rented house I had a nice garden where I grew some nice fruit/veg. Atm I live in a flat so it's impossible. The house I've just bought however has a garden big enough to grow fruit/veg again. I don't use shitty soil though, I go to the garden centre for nutrients etc.. afterall how are plants meant to produce quality if they're being fed crap? My parents in law have just bought a house with a massive vegetable patch & it's located close to us. I'm totally going to nab some of the space! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barlow Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Replacing "best before" and "sell by" labels with a "use by" label also means they get to keep them on the shelves for longer. So a win for the supermarkets. Having said that, the amount that people I know throw away because it is a day over its "best before" date is appalling. So it's a win for the environment too. Twats. Best before (as opposed to Sell By / Use by) is a quality not a safety parameter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Miyagi Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 They won't be able to remove 'best before' as this is mandatory legal requirement under The Food Labelling Regulations 1996 which is a European regulation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendy Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 i've given up on nutrient feed. just sunshine and water for my gardening needs as nature intended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunK BeaR Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Instead of marking food "best before" a certain date, retailers will in future have to produce labels which give details of the health risks associated with individual foods that remain on shelves or in the fridge for a lengthy period before being consumed.Prawns and eggs, for example, would be more likely, under the new guidelines, to carry detailed warnings of potential risks of food poisoning if they were eaten after a certain date. Bread, however, where risks would be minimal, would carry much simpler labels. Does this mean that certain foods are now going to carry horrific warnings like fag packets? Chickens with a picture of somebody projectile vomiting from food poisoning. Will this really help to save food? People tend to be a bit paranoid and is it not more likely that they could chuck certain foods out earlier now as they are unsure about its safety and dont want to take any chances? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tallburt Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 My sister-in-law chucks food away a couple of days BEFORE the Best Before date to 'be on the safe side'.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Does this mean that certain foods are now going to carry horrific warnings like fag packets? Chickens with a picture of somebody projectile vomiting from food poisoning. Will this really help to save food? People tend to be a bit paranoid and is it not more likely that they could chuck certain foods out earlier now as they are unsure about its safety and dont want to take any chances? The people who waste food now will still waste food. Even tins have really short dates on them these days - am sure stuff used to have 5 years away on - now you're lucky if it's a year off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 In my last rented house I had a nice garden where I grew some nice fruit/veg. Atm I live in a flat so it's impossible. The house I've just bought however has a garden big enough to grow fruit/veg again. I don't use shitty soil though, I go to the garden centre for nutrients etc.. afterall how are plants meant to produce quality if they're being fed crap? My parents in law have just bought a house with a massive vegetable patch & it's located close to us. I'm totally going to nab some of the space! ..Others could borrow a patch of a neighbours garden (with their permission of course) that is not being used and share the produce. http://www.nettles.org.uk/nettles/activities/nettlemanure.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappycocco Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Surely it would make more sense to scrap all these buy one get one free like deals and start selling items at half price so people don't buy more than they need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Surely it would make more sense to scrap all these buy one get one free like deals and start selling items at half price so people don't buy more than they need. Quite....who wants two sacks of oranges/apples for the price of one, for one to go rotten and get thrown away when one for half price will suffice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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