While it is common for polls to show that people are confused about ‘use by’ dates on foods, the new 5000-strong survey, carried out on behalf of BBC Good Food, is unusual in showing people ignoring them completely.

Indeed, previous research in the UK has suggested shoppers are overly cautious when it comes to assessing ‘life codes’ on foods, which creates thousands of tonnes of unnecessary waste as they bin perfectly good food.

There have been similar findings across Europe. An EU Flash Barometer published in September found that nearly one in two respondents (49%) said clearer information on the meaning of ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ dates would help them reduce waste.

 

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Food Labelling Services comments:

Date codes are mandatory under the Food Labelling Regulations 2011 for all products, apart from a few categories that are exempt. In general terms, a “Use By” date should only be given on foods which are highly perishable from a microbiological point of view and have a short shelf life after which could pose immediate danger to health.

“Best Before” dates are used on foods to indicate the date up to and including when the food will retain its optimum qualit).