Tesco is to switch from “Use By” to “Best Before” dates on over 30 yogurt lines to help its customers reduce their food waste.
The move, which the supermarket says is being made to help prevent perfectly edible food from being thrown away, aims to encourage customers to use their own judgement on whether to eat a product.
Tesco uses two date descriptions on its packs. “Best Before” dates are put on foods by retailers as a quality indication to show that although they may no longer be at their best they are still good to eat.
“Use By” dates are used when products need to be eaten before the date for safety reasons. A product with a “Use By” date must be eaten or frozen by midnight on its “Use By” date.
This latest move by Tesco follows the waste initiative started by the supermarket in 2018, where “Best Before” dates were removed from more than 170 fruit and vegetable lines including apples, potatoes, tomatoes, lemons and other citrus fruit and onions.
We have made the decision to remove ‘Use By’ dates on yogurts where it is safe to do so, after extensive testing.
The yoghurts include popular Tesco lines such as Greek Style Yogurt 500g, Creamfields Greek Style Yogurt 500g, Creamfields Berry Medley Low Fat Yogurt 6x125g and Finest Lemon Curd Yogurt 150g.
Tesco Lead Technical Manager for Dairy Amy Walker, commented: “We know some shoppers may be unclear about the difference between ‘Use By’ and ‘Best Before’ dates on food and this can lead to perfectly edible items being thrown away unnecessarily.
“We have made the decision to remove ‘Use By’ dates on yogurts where it is safe to do so, after extensive testing which reveals that the acidity of the product acts as a natural preservative. However, consumers should always use their judgement to determine if the quality is acceptable.
“These lines represent a significant proportion of our own brand yogurts and we hope to phase the change in between now and the end of June.”