Waitrose and Partners have announced that it will remove best before dates from a variety of fresh products including citrus fruits, salad items as well as vegetables and indoor plants.

From September, Waitrose will remove best before dates on nearly 500 fresh products including root vegetables, fruits such as grapes, citrus, apples as well as indoor plants. According to the retailer, the removal of best before dates is designed to reduce the volume of food waste occurring in UK households by inviting customers to use their own judgement.

Waitrose said that the move is part of the company’s commitment to help its customers reduce food waste at home by 2030.

In the UK, best before dates are designed to showcase food quality for customers, rather than safety, i.e. food is at its best before this date, however it should still be okay to eat after this date has passed.

The retailer is encouraging customers “to use their judgement to check food quality before consuming.” ‘Use by’ dates will still be in place across products for safety. Eating food after its ‘use by’ date (‘unless it has been frozen on or before its use by date) could result in food poisoning.

Reducing waste at home

Commenting on the news, Marija Rompani, director of sustainability and Ethics at John Lewis Partnership said: “Food waste continues to be a major issue and in the UK alone 70% of all food wasted is by people in their own homes. UK households throw away 4.5 million tonnes of edible food every year, meaning that all the energy and resources used in food production is wasted.

“By removing best before dates from our products, we want our customers to use their own judgement to decide whether a product is good to eat or not, which in turn, will increase its chances of being eaten and not becoming waste. By using up existing fresh food in our homes, we can also save on our weekly household food shop, which is becoming an increasingly pressing concern for many.”