Aldi becomes latest supermarket to ditch “best before” dates to help reduce food waste

Aldi has become the latest supermarket to ditch “best before” dates as part of plans to reduce food waste.

The grocer has confirmed it will scrap dates labels from 60 fresh fruit and vegetable lines.

By the end of the year, Britain’s fifth largest supermarket will remove best before dates from apples and pears, citrus fruits, potatoes, carrots and onions, which could help households to save on food waste each year.

Aldi said the move “forms part of Aldi’s commitment to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025 and halve it by 2030.”

“As part of its food waste reduction programme, the supermarket has partnered with Neighbourly to donate 700,000 meals during the summer holidays.”

Aldi has also partnered with surplus food app Too Good To Go in some stores, which see products that are approaching their use-by date collated into ‘Magic Bags’ containing at least £10 worth of groceries, which customers can buy for just £3.30 each vis the Too Good To Go app, before collecting them from the store.

Liz Fox, Corporate Responsibility Director at Aldi UK, said: “One of the reasons we are the UK’s cheapest supermarket is because we cut down on waste wherever we see it.

“And by getting rid of these dates on packaging, we can help customers get even better value by reducing the amount of food that goes to waste at home.

“This latest step, together with our partnerships with Neighbourly and Too Good To Go, is all part of our efforts to provide affordable, sustainable and responsible products for all our customers.”