Sainsbury's has become the latest supermarket to announce a major change to its food packaging which will affect 276 own-branded fresh products in stores.
The supermarket chain has confirmed it will be axing 'best before' dates from a whole host of fresh fruit and vegetables, including pears, onions, tomatoes, and citrus fruits from over 100 product lines, with a further 130 products including potatoes to follow.
Shoppers can expect to see the labelling changes from the end of August in a move the supermarket has said will help them to eliminate 17 million food products going to waste each year.
The dates will be replaced with an on-pack message that will read "no date helps reduce waste" across the variety of fresh produce affected by the change.
It is the latest supermarket to make the changes as it commits to becoming a more sustainable company that will halve its food waste by 2030. The supermarket, who has been a member of the UK Food Waste Reduction Roadmap since 2018, has already removed best before dates from over 1,500 lines including bananas, apples and indoor plants.
Supermarkets have been removing the 'best before' dates following criticism from The Waste Action and Resource Programme (WRAP) for being "unnecessary" and "contributing to climate change."
Additionally, Sainsbury's has also confirmed it will be switching the 'use by' dates to 'best before' dates across a variety of their own-branded yoghurts. The supermarket has said the change will affect 46 product lines and will give customers more autonomy to make their own decisions on whether their food is good to eat after the marked date.
The dairy labelling changes comes after research from WRAP has revealed that 54,000 tonnes of yoghurt is wasted a year, with 70% being related to the 'use by' date being the reason for it being thrown away.
Kate Stein, Director of Technical at Sainsbury’s said "We know that around a third of all food produced for human consumption is either lost or wasted and food waste is one of the leading contributors of carbon emissions, accounting for a staggering 8-10% of GHG emissions globally, which is why we’re committed to helping customers reduce waste at home.
"We also know that by avoiding unnecessary waste, we can help our customers save money by making their food shop last longer. The changes that we’re announcing today will do just that, giving customers more autonomy to make their own decisions on whether their food is good to eat, and preventing them from disposing of food too early.
"With changes like these, together, we can all play our part in tackling the climate crisis and protecting the planet for generations to come."
The labelling changes from Sainsbury's comes after Morrisons, Tesco, Waitrose and M&S had all made similar initiatives that are set to roll out in stores from September.
The Daily Record recently reported Asda had also joined the nationwide ban by announcing that they would be scrapping 'best before' dates from more than 250 fresh fruit and vegetables in store.
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