Shoppers at major UK supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, and Morrisons are being encouraged to look for a specific hidden code on fresh produce before they buy, in a move designed to tackle the nation's food waste problem.
The End of the 'Best Before' Date?
Many British supermarkets have now phased out traditional 'best before' dates on fresh fruit and vegetables. While a 'best before' date indicates when a product is at its peak quality, it does not mean the item is unsafe to eat after that point. Experts argue that this distinction is frequently misunderstood, leading to vast amounts of perfectly edible food being thrown away.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has championed the removal of these dates from fresh produce. Their research shows that fruit and vegetables are among the most commonly discarded items, often binned by consumers solely because the printed date has passed.
By removing the date stickers, supermarkets aim to encourage customers to use their own judgement—looking, smelling, and touching produce—to decide if it's still good, rather than relying on an arbitrary label.
How to Crack the Supermarket Code
For those who still want to gauge the freshness of an item, a discreet coding system remains in place. This typically involves a three-digit code that corresponds to the production or packing date.
At Tesco and Asda, the code consists of a letter followed by a number. The letter corresponds to the month of the year, with 'A' representing January, 'B' for February, 'C' for March, and so on. The number that follows indicates the day of the month.
British grocery expert Richard Price from BritSuperstore explained the system with an example: "'I27' indicates a best-before date of 27 September."
Morrisons uses a similar system, where the first letter also denotes the month, followed by the date number.
Making Your Food Last Longer
Understanding these codes can empower shoppers to make more informed choices. Richard Price advises: "Many supermarkets have a hidden code on their fresh produce labels, meaning Brits can find food that will actually last the week rather than going soggy or over-ripe before they've had a chance to use them."
He emphasised the crucial difference between 'best before' and 'use by' dates. "Best-before dates are about quality rather than safety. Most fruit and vegetables are safe to eat past this date if they look and smell okay," he said. However, for items marked with a 'use by' date, such as pre-cut fruit, the expiry date must be adhered to for safety reasons.
Mastering this simple labelling system is a small step that can have a significant impact. As Price concludes, "These codes may look confusing at first, but they are the key to knowing exactly when your fruit and vegetables are at their best. Once you understand them, you can make your groceries last longer and avoid throwing away perfectly good food."
