M&S swaps ‘Use By’ with ‘Best Before’ dates on fresh milk

Marks and Spencer is swapping the ‘Use By’ dates with ‘Best Before’ ones across its RSPCA Assured Select Farms British and organic fresh milk in a bid to halve food waste by 2030. M&S is the first grocer to offer ‘Best Before’ labelling on fully recyclable milk bottles after having removed coloured plastic cups earlier this year, helping customers play their part in a circular economy. The change is currently being rolled out across all M&S UK stores from this week. The combination of improved shelf life and overall quality of milk in recent years has enabled M&S to make the change to ‘Best Before’ dates, which means customers may judge whether to keep or throw away the milk for longer. The new M&S labelling comes as WRAP revealed that UK homes are estimated to waste 490 million pints of milk a year. In July last year, M&S removed the ‘Best Before’ dates across over 300 fruits and vegetables, which were replaced with a code M&S employees could check to guarantee freshness and quality. In addition, M&S became the first grocer in 2017 to stock RSPCA Assured milk in order to meet the RSPCA animal welfare standards. Catherine David, director collaboration and change at WRAP, said: “Milk is the third most wasted food in the home behind potatoes and bread, with around 490 million pints poured down the drain every year – 18 and a half per household – worth £270m. The main reason is not drinking before the Use-By date. By changing its British and organic fresh milk to a Best-before date, M&S is instantly helping its customers save money and cut waste by giving them more time to consume the milk they buy. “WRAP’s joint Best Practice with the Food Standards Agency, Defra and Dairy UK states to only apply a Use-By date when required for food safety reasons, and it’s fantastic to see M&S making this switch. This type of change to labelling is fundamental in helping people reduce household food waste, which currently tops more than 6.6 million tonnes each year across the UK.”