No more ‘Use By’: Aldi shakes up milk labelling to fight food waste

In a move to help combat food waste, Aldi, the fourth-largest supermarket chain in the UK, has announced it will stop using ‘Use By’ dates on its fresh milk.

The change, set to begin rolling out by the end of the year, will apply to all Aldi stores across England and Wales.

The supermarket will instead opt for ‘Best Before’ dates on milk bottles, excluding filtered milk.

The move is expected to prevent the unnecessary disposal of milk and encourage consumers to make better use of their dairy products.

According to the waste reduction charity WRAP, nearly 300,000 tonnes of milk is wasted by UK households each year, with half attributing the wastage to the ‘Use By’ date.

While milk is often safe to consume beyond its ‘Best Before’ date, given proper storage and an absence of off odours, Aldi will be encouraging customers to perform a ‘sniff test’ to determine if the milk is still fit for consumption.

Liz Fox, Sustainability Director at Aldi UK, emphasised the supermarket’s commitment to sustainable practices, saying, “We are constantly working to be a more sustainable retailer and we are dedicated to preventing food waste wherever we can, both in our stores and helping customers throw away less food at home.”

This initiative is part of Aldi’s broader strategy to halve its food waste by 2030.

The supermarket has previously removed ‘Best Before’ dates from around 60 fresh fruit and vegetable lines, including apples, pears, citrus fruits, potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Furthermore, it has rolled out its partnership with food surplus app Too Good To Go nationwide.

This partnership enables customers to purchase a ‘magic bag’ of food nearing its shelf life for £3.30, offering at least £10 worth of groceries.

Alongside these food waste strategies, Aldi has also recently introduced clear caps on its milk bottles to enhance their recyclability, further demonstrating their commitment to sustainability.

“We hope shoppers embrace this change and look, smell, and taste their milk to see if it’s still fine to use, so together we can reduce the effect food waste has on the environment,” Fox concluded.

As consumers increasingly value sustainable practices, Aldi’s proactive steps could be a game-changer in the fight against food waste.