Aldi has announced plans to remove best before dates from around 60 of its own brand products in a bid to help tackle food waste in homes.

According to a statement by the retailer, by the end of the year, Aldi will remove best before dates from around 60 fresh fruit and veg lines, including apples and pears, citrus fruits, potatoes, carrots and onions. The supermarket said that the change could help households to save on food waste each year.

The move forms part of Aldi’s commitment to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025 and halve it by 2030.

At the end of August, Asda announced that it would remove ‘best before’ labels across a range of fresh produce, including 200 fruit and vegetable products. Waitrose, Morrisons and Tesco have introduced similar measures.

According to guidelines by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the ‘best before’ date, sometimes shown as BBE (best before end), is about quality. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best. On the other hand, the ‘use-by’ date on food is about safety. The FSA said that consumers can eat food until and on the use-by date but not after.

As part of its food waste reduction programme, Aldi has partnered with surplus food app Too Good To Go in some stores, which sees products that are approaching their use-by date collated into ‘Magic Bags’ containing at least £10 worth of groceries. Customers can buy these bags for just £3.30 each vis the Too Good To Go app, before collecting them from the store.

Reducing food waste

Liz Fox, corporate responsibility director at Aldi UK, said: “One of the reasons we are the UK’s cheapest supermarket is because we cut down on waste wherever we see it.

“And by getting rid of these dates on packaging, we can help customers get even better value by reducing the amount of food that goes to waste at home.”