Tesco wants to Remove ‘Best Before’ Labels From Fruit And Vegetables in the UK

When the largest food chain in the UK takes such a bold stance, it’s usually a sign the times are indeed changing.

Tesco has recently announced they will stop adding a “best before” label to all fruits and vegetable, and they have very good reasons for doing so – read through the following sections to learn the gist of the matter. 

Why is Tesco changing all labels in fruits and vegetables ?

It was early in 2018 when the titanic food chain originally announced their intent to tackle the food waste problem which has been steadily increasing and is growing out of proportion. To achieve this goal, Tesco decided to reorganize its operations towards efficiency and sustainability. 

In order to determine the best course of action, a large-scale study of consumer insights was commissioned. The participants of the study where asked for suggestions that might help avoid food waste, which originated many useful ideas. One of the most common responses related to the information conveyed by labels placed in fresh produce, which according to an overwhelming majority of consumers might be leading to food waste – both directly and indirectly. 

An overwhelming majority of responders to this stud claimed they thought it would be a good idea to eliminate “best before” dates from all labels in fruits and vegetables since this information is unnecessary and often misleading. In fact, about half of the participants expressed the idea that all labels should altogether be removed from fruits and vegetables since they have no real perceived value and sometimes will negatively affect the preservation of fresh produce. 

How this simple change will massively reduce wasting of food and vegetables

According to the brand representatives, this simple change should translate in massive savings for clients across the country, as well as a notable reduction in food waste since now consumers will be empowered to decide objectively when their food is past its prime – rather than being pressured by the semantic implications of the best before date, which was only meant as a loose guideline in the first place. 

The safety of all perishable products will still be alluded to through the “use by” label, whose purpose is indeed to provide an approximate estimate of the time-frame after which all perishable fruits and vegetables are expected to become unfit for eating. In any case, most consumers can tell exactly when their fruits and vegetables are deteriorated just by carefully looking at their food – so savvy consumers might indeed want to use their best judgement.