Tesco to remove best-before dates from own-label fruit and veg to cut down on food waste

TESCO is going to remove best-before dates off some of its own-label fruit and vegetables to help cut down on food waste.

It's to stop customers confusing them with the use-by date and ditching food before it has gone off.

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British households throw away £470 of food each year according to the charity Waste & Resources Action Programme, although it's claimed that of the 7.3million tonnes that's binned 4.4million is avoidable.

This is partly down to not knowing the difference between use-by and best-before dates.

The use-by date is the most important one because it's set in stone - don't eat things if it has passed.

You tend to see these detailed on things which go off quickly, so that's fish and meat, which should be properly stored.

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Best-before dates are put on foods as a guide to quality NOT safety.

That means you can eat the food after the figure printed, but it might not be as tasty.

Mark Little from Tesco explained that they're focusing on fruit and veg because they're "among the most wasted foods".

The dates will be removed from Rosedene Farm small sweet apples, own-brand brown onions and sweet potatoes among others.

Tesco don't know how much money it may save but if the trial is successful it could be rolled out on all of the own-brand fruit and veg.

It's not the only supermarket tackling food waste.

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Morrisons, Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's all sell a range of wonky veg for a reduced price.

There are some foods like eggs and milk that you can eat after the use-by-dates on them but you'll need to be careful.

We found some old tinned and canned foods at the back of our cupboards that had gone way beyond their best-before date to see if they aged well. From oysters to Christmas pudding - we've tried it so you don't have to.

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