Co-op axes best before dates on 150 lines of fresh produce

Best before dates on more than 150 lines of fresh produce is set to axed at Co-op in a move designed to help customers cut food waste in the home and save money, the convenience retailer confirmed today (20).

Shoppers will see changes in store later this month (February) with best before dates removed from all of Co-op’s fresh produce – including apples, oranges, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, onions and broccoli – with the exception of a small number of the more perishable products, or where it can be harder to use visual cues and judgement to establish the suitability to consume.

The Co-op group, which has 2,500 UK grocery stores, will instead use encrypted codes – a series of letters and numbers – for workers in stores to keep track of how long produce has been on the shelf.

With households accounting for around 70 per cent of UK food waste, data also shows that date codes can drive consumer behaviour on deciding when to dispose of fresh produce. So, alongside the removal of best before dates, Co-op is also introducing on-pack guidance to highlight the optimum storage conditions to prolong product life.

Adele Balmforth, Propositions Director, Co-op, said that the retailer is helping customers cut food wastage.

“Date codes can drive decisions in the home, and result in good food being thrown away – which has a cost to both people and to our planet. In addition to axing best before dates on fresh fruit and vegetables, our inclusion of storage instructions can also help products last longer and, sits alongside our simple on-pack message for shoppers – ‘If it still looks good enough to eat, it is!,” Balmforth said.

The move follows a trial last year on 20 products.