When Food Should Be Sold vs. Used

According to Newton’s laws of physics (definitely not my strong suit), every action has a reaction. So it is with British government advice that food packaging labels should not include sell-by dates (which The Independent says are already "largely defunct") or display until dates, generally used for stock rotation purposes.

Caroline Spelman, environment secretary at the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) suggests products should only be labeled with one date either best before or use by. According to Food and Drink Europe and others, she added, "Many people do not understand the meaning of the labels and mistakenly believe that products are no longer safe to consume." The Guardian report is one emphasizing the intention is to "reduce food waste" caused by fears that food is unsafe sooner than is the case, causing an estimated £12 billion (or 12 million tons) in unnecessary waste annually.

Just-food quotes the reaction of food ethics council executive director, Tom MacMillan, applauding the action but then the reaction of Andrew Opie, food director of the British Retail Consortium, who argues, "If the government really wants to make a difference to reducing food waste it should be educating consumers about the two basic terms use by and best before. This system is carefully used by retailers and it isn’t complicated."

Food and Drink Europe says Barbara Gallani of the Food and Drink Federation believes best before and use by dates provide "very valuable information … on safety and quality." In spite of the BRC’s reaction, Food and Drink Europe explains "the new rules were drawn up following a consultation … with supermarkets, manufacturers, consumer groups, regulators, and waste reduction groups," while The Grocer points out that the guidance is non-binding and "calls on the food industry to develop more specific advice."

Clarification is provided in the Guardian: "’Use by’ labels should only be used if food could be unsafe to eat after that date … ‘best before’ shows the product is no longer at its best but is still safe to consume." Fortunately for consumers, there does appear to be some consensus for an approach clarifying the terms among all those quoted in the various stories.

BrainTrust

Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions: Are the terms best before and use by self-explanatory? Should retailers do more to ensure consumers understand date labeling so they don’t throw away food too soon?

Poll

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Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
12 years ago

This goes back to the scary journalism on TV every day, trying the “I gotcha” mentality to make stores look bad. In 2006 our great country threw away over 90 billion pounds of edible food, which could have been reduced or gone on to local soup kitchens or food banks, because of the ridiculous rules some states have. Common sense is truly lacking in the ways we handle close coded food, and now we have these small salvage grocery stores opening all over the country re-selling perfectly good food that big chains get rid of, and they are doing quite well. A dented can or close coded cookies were staples on our dinner table, as my father carefully brought home food my mother could make delicious for the family, and never once did anyone care or get sick.

Use common sense,and stop the wasting of food. Donate your close coded stuff to a food pantry. I guarantee you they will put it to good use.

Doron Levy
Doron Levy
12 years ago

No, consumers look at the date and it’s past that date, they throw it away. There is not real explanation to how best before dates work and no grocer that I am aware of offers any signage or information on how to read and use best before dates. In this era of non-wastefulness, we should do a better job at educating the consumer without actually poisoning them.

Art Williams
Art Williams
12 years ago

The labeling in this country is fine but a better education to the general population would be beneficial. Who would most logically bear the cost of this education may be the problem. Manufacturers have no real incentive to do this.

It’s hard to understand how anyone could be confused by the labeling, but the numbers indicate that they are. Food pantries have become experts at reading the labels properly and their recipients have benefited from this situation.

Kai Clarke
Kai Clarke
12 years ago

Education vs. communication. This is a clear case of great communication but poor education. Educating the public is a monumental task and not one that is easily or inexpensively done. In this case, it is better to remove these confusing dates and either replace them with an accurate set of dates that actually reflect the dates the product needs to be disposed of, or simply leave them off of the product altogether.

Tim Henderson
Tim Henderson
12 years ago

What’s clearly clear is that the various phrases are confusing. I’d add that I’m just as confused about the various food label date references and codes used on this side of the Atlantic. Eliminating the “sell by” and “display until” references seems a good start to helping consumers make informed buying decisions so they don’t waste money and food — which should be the ultimate goal. But additional education certainly needs to be undertaken to ensure consumers understand the “best before” and “use by” dates.

Nikki Baird
Nikki Baird
12 years ago

I confess, I’m confused by the labeling. I’m definitely in the hyper-sensitive category of consumer (I once had to be hospitalized for a severe case of food poisoning. It was from a restaurant, but believe me, I’m super-vigilant at home as a result). To me, “use by” and “best before” equate to the same thing. I have no clue how long shelf-stable goods, in particular, should last, and isn’t it kind of disconcerting to think that while my fresh tomatoes might last 2 weeks in the fruit & vege box in my refrigerator, my jar of spaghetti sauce might make it past the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012? If I find a jar of jam in the back of my pantry and it says “Best Before May 2011” is it still good today? I have no clue. When in doubt, throw it out. It’s either that, or risk throwing it up later. That’s my philosophy. And I don’t want to be responsible for perpetrating that risk against someone who came to a food bank for a meal, either.

There are two other sides to the coin, and that’s waste, as the article discusses, and liability, which it does not. If there was a clear expiration date on everything — if it’s past this date, throw it out — then while my jam might have been best before May, I can with confidence know that I can still use it in August if it says it expires in December. It may not taste as good as it could, but if I want to use it, I can — with confidence. However, if I haven’t stored it properly and I use it and get sick, now there’s liability attached to that expiration date. And whether there are protections in place or not, there are going to be lawsuits and that costs money.

So I understand why the industry doesn’t want to get specific, but as a consumer, I don’t want to get guilt-tripped over protecting my personal food safety just to protect a manufacturer’s or retailer’s liability around same. We probably have not achieved balance, and I agree whole-heartedly that it is a terrible waste to throw food away when others desperately need it. But I think this is more than just educating consumers as to what these dates mean. “Best Before” is pretty disingenuous when it comes to relaying useful information to a consumer about how long a product should sit on the shelf, whether of a store or of a pantry.