Tesco scraps fruit and veg Best Before

TESCO is removing the Best Before date from almost 70 fruit and veg lines to reduce waste.

It follows concerns that shoppers are throwing away huge amounts of good food because most do not understand date labels.

Best Before dates identify when produce is at its freshest and tastiest. But it remains good for some time after this and Tesco is leaving customers to decide whether or not something can be eaten.

Food waste experts say the only date label necessary is Use By, which denotes when certain products will go off and could become a health threat.

In a recent survey by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, less than half of respondents understood that Best Before dates indicate food quality, while more than 70 per cent knew Use By is a marker of food safety.

Last year the Food Standards Agency and the waste advisory group, WRAP, issued new guidance for stores calling for the removal of unhelpful date labels.

They said: ‘In the UK, of the total 7.3million tonnes of household food waste each year, around two million tonnes are thrown away due to ‘‘not being used in time’’, and for a third of this food, date labelling is cited as a factor.’

They said increasing the life of all perishable foods by one day could help prevent up to 200,000 tonnes of household food waste, potentially saving consumers £600million a year.

Mark Little, Tesco’s head of food waste, said: ‘We know some customers may be confused by the difference between Best Before and Use By dates on food, and this can lead to perfectly edible items being thrown away.

‘We have made this change to fruit and vegetable packaging as they are among the most wasted foods.’ Apples, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, lemons and other citrus fruit are included in the change and will have no date on the packaging.

David Moon, of WRAP, welcomed the move and urged shoppers to store fresh produce properly to extend its life.

In general, the group advises that the best way to store perishable foods is in the original pack in a fridge where the temperature is kept below 5C (41F).

Chef and waste campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has suggested there are also questions about the Use By system. He said some supermarkets set this too early, which results in good, safe food being thrown out, and Use By should be restricted to a very small group of products that are a real health risk if kept too long.