Milk use-by dates could be ditched in favour of people using the ‘sniff test’ to cut down on household waste
Campaigners say 100 million pints a year are wasted when consumers automatically throw away milk after the date on the bottle
BRITONS will be urged to "sniff it and see" if milk has gone off under plans to scrap the use-by date on cartons and bottles.
Campaigners say it could save more than 100 million pints a year that are wasted because some consumers automatically throw away milk after the date on containers.
Waste reduction charity Wrap is holding discussions with the dairy industry, the Food Standards Agency and government officials about moving away from use-by dates, .
Use-by dates are meant to appear on products such as meat, which can be unsafe if consumed after a certain period.
But Wrap found they were increasingly being used on products that might not need them, such as milk, yoghurts, cheese and naan bread.
The charity believes that a best-before label should be used instead, encouraging consumers to use their common sense.
Wrap's Andrew Parry said: “We are exploring with the dairy sector whether milk could move to a best-before date.
"That could really help reduce milk wastage.”
He said he hoped new guidance would be issued by the end of the year.
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Wrap examined 9,000 items in 78 stores owned by Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Tesco and Waitrose. In many cases, retailers were found to be contributing to waste by ignoring official guidance on labelling.
Almost 500 million pints of milk are wasted each year and more than a fifth of that is discarded because of the use-by label, Wrap said.
The average home wastes £700 of food a year, equivalent to 500 meals.
Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers recognise they have an important role in helping customers avoid waste, while ensuring the highest standards of food safety.”
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