Expiry dates are the standard way to tell if something is safe to consume. In fact, it’s illegal to sell products that have passed these dates or expired. However, one supermarket chain in the UK has decided that expiry dates are unnecessary and have opted to abandon them, and replace them with the good ol ‘sniff test’.

In a bid to reduce food waste in stores, British supermarket Morrisons is scrapping ‘use by’ dates on 90 per cent of its own-brand milk.

Instead, the retailer will place ‘best before’ dates on their milk and encourage shoppers to do a ‘sniff test’ to check the quality.

Morrisons was reportedly the first supermarket to make the ‘bold move’, which starts at the end of January.

British supermarket Morrisons scraps 'use by' dates on most of its own-brand milk. Credit: Morrisons.​

Generally, ‘best before’ dates indicate when the product should be consumed to get the best quality and taste. On the other hand, ‘use by’ dates are attached to perishable food so buyers know when the product can be consumed safely.

But research from the supermarket team showed that milk does not have to be labelled as a ‘perishable food’, meaning, milk is often acceptable to be used days after the imprinted date.

“The dates on the milk will stay the same - it is what we are asking customers to do, which is changing,” said the supermarket.

Ian Goode, a senior milk buyer at Morrisons, said he’s hoping the changes would reduce food waste, as millions of litres of milk are unnecessarily thrown away each year.

“Wasted milk means wasted effort by our farmers and unnecessary carbon being released into the atmosphere,” he said.

“Good quality, well-kept milk has a good few days’ life after normal ‘use by’ dates – and we think it should be consumed, not tipped down the sink. So, we’re taking a bold step today and asking customers to decide whether their milk is still good to drink.”

“Generations before us have always used the sniff test – and I believe we can too.”

According to the Waste Resources and Action Programme (WRAP), milk is the third most wasted food and beverage product, with around 280 million litres thrown away yearly and approximately 48 million litres of milk wasted due to consumers strictly following ‘use by’ labels.

Marcus Gover, WRAP chief executive, said: “I am delighted that Morrisons is the first UK supermarket to take this important step to help reduce household food waste - it shows real leadership, and we look forward to more retailers reviewing date labels on their products and taking action.”

Shoppers are left to decide whether the milk has gone bad. Credit: news.com.au.
​

However, shoppers weren’t so happy with the announced changes. Taking their complaints to Twitter, many have questioned the supermarket’s decision.

One customer asked: “So, Morrisons – can we open the bottle in order to sniff it before purchase? Or do we have to go home, sniff it, then bring it back if it’s off?”

Another added: “I can open the milk whilst still in Morrisons to check then, I guess?”

Some shoppers also pointed out that opening a product in the grocery and ‘sniffing’ it may not be the best idea in times of a pandemic.

“Not sure having the public opening up the cartons and sniffing the milk before buying it is a good idea,” said a customer. “Good idea during a pandemic where people lose their sense of taste and smell,” another added.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) advised customers that sniffing food products is not an appropriate safety test, especially for items that could cause food poisoning.

What are your thoughts? Would you be happy to buy milk purely based on its smell? Let us know in the comments below!

 

[Lynette Finnigan]

Things never used to have dates on them and somehow we all survived, in a lot of ways thrived.

Yeah...but people were slightly more honest, and shops were small, so the shopkeeper knew his products and what age/stage they were at..... big supermarkets wouldn't know unless they were date stamped.... anyway, I though in Australia anyway, it was regulated for health reasons.

 

[Lindyloo]

British supermarket slammed for removing use-by dates from milk, asks shoppers to do a ‘sniff test’ instead​

Expiry dates are the standard way to tell if something is safe to consume. In fact, it’s illegal to sell products that have passed these dates or expired. However, one supermarket chain in the UK has decided that expiry dates are unnecessary and have opted to abandon them, and replace them with the good ol ‘sniff test’.

In a bid to reduce food waste in stores, British supermarket Morrisons is scrapping ‘use by’ dates on 90 per cent of its own-brand milk.

Instead, the retailer will place ‘best before’ dates on their milk and encourage shoppers to do a ‘sniff test’ to check the quality.

Morrisons was reportedly the first supermarket to make the ‘bold move’, which starts at the end of January.

British supermarket Morrisons scraps 'use by' dates on most of its own-brand milk. Credit: Morrisons.​

Generally, ‘best before’ dates indicate when the product should be consumed to get the best quality and taste. On the other hand, ‘use by’ dates are attached to perishable food so buyers know when the product can be consumed safely.

But research from the supermarket team showed that milk does not have to be labelled as a ‘perishable food’, meaning, milk is often acceptable to be used days after the imprinted date.

“The dates on the milk will stay the same - it is what we are asking customers to do, which is changing,” said the supermarket.

Ian Goode, a senior milk buyer at Morrisons, said he’s hoping the changes would reduce food waste, as millions of litres of milk are unnecessarily thrown away each year.

“Wasted milk means wasted effort by our farmers and unnecessary carbon being released into the atmosphere,” he said.

“Good quality, well-kept milk has a good few days’ life after normal ‘use by’ dates – and we think it should be consumed, not tipped down the sink. So, we’re taking a bold step today and asking customers to decide whether their milk is still good to drink.”

“Generations before us have always used the sniff test – and I believe we can too.”

According to the Waste Resources and Action Programme (WRAP), milk is the third most wasted food and beverage product, with around 280 million litres thrown away yearly and approximately 48 million litres of milk wasted due to consumers strictly following ‘use by’ labels.

Marcus Gover, WRAP chief executive, said: “I am delighted that Morrisons is the first UK supermarket to take this important step to help reduce household food waste - it shows real leadership, and we look forward to more retailers reviewing date labels on their products and taking action.”

Shoppers are left to decide whether the milk has gone bad. Credit: news.com.au.
​

However, shoppers weren’t so happy with the announced changes. Taking their complaints to Twitter, many have questioned the supermarket’s decision.

One customer asked: “So, Morrisons – can we open the bottle in order to sniff it before purchase? Or do we have to go home, sniff it, then bring it back if it’s off?”

Another added: “I can open the milk whilst still in Morrisons to check then, I guess?”

Some shoppers also pointed out that opening a product in the grocery and ‘sniffing’ it may not be the best idea in times of a pandemic.

“Not sure having the public opening up the cartons and sniffing the milk before buying it is a good idea,” said a customer. “Good idea during a pandemic where people lose their sense of taste and smell,” another added.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) advised customers that sniffing food products is not an appropriate safety test, especially for items that could cause food poisoning.

What are your thoughts? Would you be happy to buy milk purely based on its smell? Let us know in the comments below!

That's outrageous..what happens if you have no sense of smell?