MORRISONS is to remove ‘use by’ dates on 90% of its own brand milk in a bid to reduce food waste in UK homes.
The supermarket said it is encouraging its customers to use a ‘sniff test’ to determine whether or not their milk is still good to consume.
Best before dates will still feature on the packaging, to indicate to customers when they should drink it by to get the best taste.
Morrisons said that drinking milk after its best before date is ‘not a food safety issue’ – with it adding that milk ‘can often last a number of days past the use by date’.
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.
Ian Goode, senior milk buyer at Morrisons, said, “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.
“So we’re taking a bold step today 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.”
Marcus Gover, CEO at WRAP, added, “I am delighted that Morrisons is the first UK supermarket to take this important step to help reduce household food waste – it shows real leadership and we look forward to more retailers reviewing date labels on their products and taking action. WRAP’s joint Best Practice with FSA and Defra is to only apply a ‘Use By’ date when required for food safety reasons.
“Applying a best before date to indicate quality on all other products means people have longer to use their food. Almost 300,000 tonnes of milk is wasted from UK homes each year, worth £270million, with the main reason being that it isn’t used in time.
“Making improvements to labelling 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.”
