Biscuits and crisps that are past their prime? I’ll buy into that

Bargain hunters, rejoice! Also anyone who simply cannot abide waste. A small supermarket chain, the East of England Co-op – not the national chain – has started selling off the cereals, tins and crisps that have quietly passed their “best before” date at prices as low as 10p, in a bid to reduce food waste.

It’s a laudable move that the big chains should take careful note of, as supermarkets chucking out food is a huge issue.

Just last year Tesco admitted that 30,000 tonnes of the food it wasted could have been avoided. But the big question is more specific than the gross amount. We need to wonder not just how much food was squandered overall, but how much of it was still edible?

Obviously, the drastically reduced items in the 125 branches of the East of England Co-op are still fit for human consumption. Nobody seizing a bargain in its branch in Aldeburgh, the South Kensington of East Anglia – veritable Fortnumon-sea – is at risk of getting botulism from the markeddown goodies.

What marks them out is that they have passed the magic “best before” date, as determined by the producers. As have the contents of much of my kitchen cupboard.

“Best-before” dates mean this: that the producer has determined that they can only guarantee food will taste its best if it’s eaten before that date. It doesn’t mean it’s unsafe to eat afterwards. In fact, I reckon supermarket Camembert would be hugely improved by hanging on to it for a week or so after its date.

And it is far more a question of taste than an exact science. Food producers I’ve talked to often admit to slapping the dates on fairly arbitrarily, giving foods that can last years a two-year “best before” simply because “we have to put something”.

Others seem more cannily judged. You may notice that the best before date on your Christmas pudding is November next year.

There’s a simple commercial reason for the choice of that particular date: manufacturers wouldn’t want you to keep that spare pudding hanging around for next year rather than shelling out on a new one, even though they’ll generally last two or even three years.

“Use by” dates, however, need to be taken more seriously, as they’re genuine health and safety indicators. Food can’t legally be sold or even given away after these dates, as the producer won’t guarantee it is safe.

That said, I regularly use stuff that’s meandered past its official use-by date. If it looks and smells OK, it probably is, though there are a few exceptions. Cakes not rising? Check the date on that dusty tin of baking powder.

Use-by-date surfing is an educated risk I’m prepared to chance. Taking “best befores” with a very large pinch of salt is something we can all do with confidence and, hopefully, the huge supermarket chains will take the lead from this tiny East Anglian pioneer.

Of course, none of us would want this food to be snatched away from charities that benefit from supermarkets’ best-before leftovers. But, in fact, only a small percentage of it actually gets to them, because small quantities just aren’t worth their while picking up. So, for the odd packet of biscuits, it makes good sense to pass it on in the store it started out in.

Chucking out food that reached its best-before date is a habit that’s well past its sell-by.