LIDL has made a MAJOR change to everyday products across all its supermarkets in order to help shoppers decrease waste. The discount chain is axeing "use by" dates on their milk and yoghurts in order to prevent customers throwing away edible food.
New Packaging
Lidl shoppers will have already seen the new packaging on milk, and yoghurts are expected to change next year.
Switching to "Best Before"
This warning will now be changed to "best before" which gives a broader expiry date and leaves it up to their own judgement.
Positive Change
Richard Inglis, Head of Buying at Lidl GB, said: "At Lidl, we know that a lot of perfectly good milk and yoghurt is being thrown away because of 'use by' dates. It therefore makes total sense to us to make the switch to 'best before' so that shoppers can use their own judgement on whether their milk or yoghurt is good to consume. We've got a long record of making positive change to reduce food waste, and this latest step builds on our commitment to helping households tackle food waste at home.
Other Supermarkets Follow Suit
Lidl is not the only supermarket to make this move. Marks and Spencer, Asda, Morrisons, and Co-op have also ditched "use by" labels.
Encrypted Codes
Shops will now use encrypted codes so that workers can keep track of how long produce has been on the shelf.
Environmental Impact
Waitrose and Tesco have also taken steps to reduce waste. Waitrose has removed best before dates on many packaged fruit and vegetable items, while Tesco has removed best-before dates from some of its own-label fruit and vegetables.
Milk Cap Recycling
In addition to removing "use by" dates, supermarkets like Tesco, Lidl, Asda, Aldi, Waitrose, and Sainsbury's have been removing different coloured milk caps to improve recycling. The new clear caps can be recycled back into milk bottles, resulting in an extra 3,900 tonnes of plastic being recycled.
How to Tell if Food Has Gone Off
It is important to remember that "best before dates" are very different from "use by" dates. Eating food after its use by date (unless it has been frozen on or before its use by date) could result in food poisoning. Here are some tricks to tell if certain foods have gone off:
Butter: Can be kept in the fridge for around two weeks or the freezer for six to nine months. If it has gone off, the airy product will appear pale or show mould while smelling stale.
Eggs: Usually safe in the fridge for three to four weeks. When they've gone off they will have a sulphurous smell. The egg white can also turn pink when they're past their best.
Cheese: Should be thrown out of the fridge after three to six weeks, or up to eight months after being stored in the freezer. Darker spots, mould, or a stronger smell are good indicators the product has gone off.
Yoghurt: Can be kept for about a week in the fridge or a month in the freezer. Water at the top, curdling at the bottom, or mould are all signs the dairy food should be binned.
Fruit and vegetables: Apples will last the longest in the fridge, up to two months. Wrinkly or discoloured skin with bruising will tell you the fruit has gone off. Avocados are good for about 10 days in the fridge and will look brown or even black when they've gone past their best. Uncooked broccoli can remain edible for two weeks in the fridge, or up to nine days after being cooked. The veg turns yellow, goes limp, and has a bad smell when it's gone off. Carrots are edible for around five weeks in the fridge but will go mushy or slimy in texture when it's time to throw them away.
Baked goods: Bread lasts a long time in the freezer – up to six months – as opposed to a week in the cupboard. Mould will spread over slices when it has perished. Unopened cereal is edible for six months or four months after opening. It will go stale if it has been left too long. Dry pasta can be stored for up to two years in the cupboard but goes dull in appearance and slimy in texture when its shelf life is up. Frozen pizza should be binned after six months sitting in the freezer, or five days in the fridge. There will be mould, a bad taste, or hard/dry texture once it has gone off.
Meat: Unopened bacon should last up to two weeks in the fridge or eight months in the freezer. The meat will go grey in colour and have a sour smell when it is unsafe to consume. Chicken, when uncooked, is advised to be thrown away after two days in the fridge, or after one year in the freezer. It appears dull and slimy with a bad odour when it has gone off. Sausages have the same expiry in the fridge, but only last up to nine months in the freezer. They display the same signs when it is time they should be thrown away. Salmon and cod also have the same fridge and freezer expiry, with the same things to watch out for.
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