DISCUSSION

Calls for Removing 'Sell-By' Dates

June 17, 2009Written by RetailWire Staff

By Bernice Hurst, Contributing Editor, RetailWire

Included in a lengthy list of recommendations on reducing packaging waste recently published by British Environment Minister, Hilary Benn, was one that really grabbed headline writers. Mr. Benn suggested that one reason for excessive food waste was consumer misunderstanding of label terminology. Not understanding the difference between "sell-by," "best before" and "use by" apparently means that many err on the side of caution, sending large amounts of perfectly edible food to landfill sites each year.

Mr. Benn's suggestion that labels be simplified, eliminating sell-by dates, met with protests from retailers. According to the BBC, Stephen Robertson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, insisted that it wouldn't reduce food waste and that "education" would be a better solution. He also emphasized, "Retailers are working with the government to improve understanding and to help customers make better choices about buying, storing and using food at home."

Mr. Benn did not dispute the need for education but explained that guidelines and terminology are confusing, leading people to dispose of still edible items in huge quantities. Instructions could be improved, he told the BBC, by focusing on whether food was still safe to eat by a certain date.

Sell-by and display-until labels are generally used for stock control and have little relevance to consumers. Best-before dates are more about quality than safety, according to official advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA). When the date runs out it doesn't mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose flavor and texture. It is the use-by date that is crucial. The FSA is currently looking at ways to make both more easily understood, however.

For food that is discarded, Mr. Benn suggests it be collected separately and fed into anaerobic digesters for conversion into electricity. This echoes policy recently adopted in San Francisco, which Mayor Gavin Newsom says makes it the first American city "to require residents to separate food scraps and other compostable material." Like his label proposal, Mr. Benn's food recycling thoughts have met with a variety of predictable (and a few unpredictable) protests.

The overall report, titled Making the Most of Packaging, focuses on much broader issues around reducing packaging and waste as well as recycling but the section on food has attracted the most attention. The statistics in the report are another indication, if one were needed, that confusion reigns. The fine line designating "too much information" continues to be a frontline in an ongoing battle over where it should be drawn.

Discussion questions: Do you think "sell-by" or "best before" labeling is too restrictive and confusing and often leads to good food being thrown away? Should retailers and suppliers be working more proactively to educate consumers on what these labels mean?

[Author's commentary] On June 15, the FSA revealed research that "people over the age of 60 are more likely than younger people to take risks with 'use by' dates."

Discussion Thread0