Lloyd said:
“With household budgets under increasing pressure, attitudes toward food are changing. Nearly half of UK adults are now trying to waste less food. Of these, half are checking ‘use by’ dates more carefully to avoid waste, but almost four in 10 are ignoring some ‘use by’ dates and relying on other checks instead, like whether the food looks and smells alright. But you can’t identify harmful bacteria in this way.
“Manufacturers should only use the date marks consumers need – ‘use by’ for safety, and ‘best before’ for quality – to help people eat safely and make the most of their budgets.
“Eggs are currently labelled as ‘best before’ when they should have ‘use by’ dates as they could be unsafe if eaten after a certain time. Which? wants Defra and the FSA to tackle this anomaly so there’s no room for confusion.
“In an online survey of 1,009 members of the GB public, weighted to be representative of the GB population, carried out by Which? in June 2011, 46% said they were consciously trying to waste less food. Half of those are checking use by dates more, so they throw away less food. However, nearly four in 10 (37%) have stopped adhering to some use by dates, instead using other means of checking whether food has gone off.”
Source: Which?
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024