01 September 2022
According to the Food Standards Agency, 1 in 5 of us think that food past its best before date is not good to eat, with over half of 18-35 year olds misunderstanding the meaning of best before and use-by dates.
This worrying trend is leading to huge amounts of avoidable food waste. A recent report from WRAP reveals that removing date labels from the most wasted fresh produce items such as, broccoli, apples, potatoes and cucumber, has the potential to cut annual household food waste by 50,000 tonnes.

What is the difference?
Use-by dates
Use-by dates relate to the food’s safety and are the most important date to remember. You can eat food until and on the use-by date, but not after. You will see use-by dates on food that goes off quickly, such as meat products or ready-to-eat salads.
Best before dates
Best before dates relate to the quality of food and not safety. In some cases, food past its best before date can be given a new lease of life with a quick culinary transformation. For example, vegetables that are bendy or withered can be cooked. Bread that is a little stale can be toasted. Biscuits that are a little soft can be put into puddings and cheese can be trimmed down or melted.
What are we doing?
Building on from the removal of date codes from pre-packed apples in July in August we removed ‘best before’ dates from over 100 product lines of fresh produce including pears, onions, tomatoes, and citrus fruits, and a further 130 products including potatoes will follow. The move builds on the work Sainsbury’s has’ done in recent years to remove dates from over 1,500 lines including, pineapples, pumpkins, apples and indoor plants. These upcoming changes could help UK households to save 11,000 tonnes of food each year, the equivalent of 17 million products.* An on-pack message ‘no date helps reduce waste’ will instead be present across the fresh produce where the label changes come into play. The full list of products with removed best-before dates from August can be found here.
Read our full press release here
Kate Stein, Director of Technical at Sainsbury’s, said: “We know that around a third of all food produced for human consumption is either lost or wasted and food waste is one of the leading contributors of carbon emissions, accounting for a staggering 8-10% of GHG emissions globally, which is why we’re committed to helping customers reduce waste at home. We also know that by avoiding unnecessary waste, we can help our customers save money by making their food shop last longer. The changes that we’re announcing today will do just that, giving customers more autonomy to make their own decisions on whether their food is good to eat, and preventing them from disposing of food too early. With changes like these, together, we can all play our part in tackling the climate crisis and protecting the planet for generations to come.”