Supermarkets are opting to remove best before dates on certain products in a bid to fight food waste.

Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and the Co-op, have all removed the dates from a range of products, including fruits and vegetables.

Misunderstanding date labels on fresh produce can lead to significant and unnecessary food waste.

According to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), removing these dates could prevent thousands of tonnes of edible food from being discarded annually, as consumers often throw away perfectly good items, assuming they are unsafe after the date has passed.

Use by and best before dates are often confused, but they are different, so it is important to understand which each means and what to look out for.

Here, the team at Food Hygiene experts High Speed Training share the differences between these two pieces of information.

Dr Richard Anderson, Head Of Learning And Development At High Speed Training, said:  “Use by dates indicate when a product may no longer be safe to eat. You should not eat, cook or freeze it after the date displayed, even if it looks or smells fine. Use by dates are typically present on meats and dairy products, as well as ready meals like salads. Always follow the storage instructions on the product (usually refrigeration or freezing). Otherwise, it may no longer be good to eat – even before its use by date.

Using food after its use-by date can put you at risk of food poisoning. Foods that have passed their use-by date may still look OK to eat, but harmful bacteria cannot be seen and does not have a smell.

Foods labelled with a use-by date should be checked daily to make sure they are still safe to eat. Freezing food before its use-by date extends its life, but once defrosted, you should eat the food within 24 hours, and do not freeze food after its use by date.

Dr Anderson continued “Best before dates are an indication of quality rather than safety. You can still eat food after its best before date, but its flavour and texture is most likely not as good as before the date.

“Best before dates are usually displayed on products that do not require refrigeration or freezing, such as dry pasta, bread, tinned products, fruits and vegetables, and uncooked rice. They are also often found on products with a longer shelf life.” 

The other dates to be aware of are sell by and display until dates. These often appear next to the use-by and best-before dates on food labelling. They are instructions for the retailers, not customers, and do not determine the date past which it is safe to eat the food.