Reducing expiration date confusion

Type de pratique Reduce

Nom de la pratique Reducing expiration date confusion

Nom de l’acteur principal UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Type d’acteur(s) Autorités publiques, Société

Pays United Kingdom

Etape de mise en œuvre Consommation, Emballage, Vente au détail

Année de mise en œuvre 2011

Opérations déjà accomplies/en cours The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has recently issued a revised version of its Guidance on the application of date labels to food (2011) aimed at clarifying the meaning of each food label.

Résultats et impacts The guidance is meant to give consumers better understanding of the difference between the several labels and the consequence of eating a given product after the date displayed on the package, and to help businesses decide whether to use the “best-before” or the “use-by” date. It also provides examples of best practices for businesses, explains the meaning of “sellby” and “display-until” dates, clarifying that there is no legal requirement for their application and encouraging businesses to explore alternative methods for stock control. It further specifies that “use-by” labels refer to the safety of the product and are intended for highly perishable foods, e.g. milk or yogurt, whereas ”best-before” relates to the peak quality of the product, meaning that the food will still be safe to eat after that date although some particular characteristics such as taste, texture or appearance may be altered. The revised guidance does not put any legally binding provisions on food business operators, or amend the national or regional legislation. The legally binding provisions are found in the General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and the Directive 2000/13/EC (DEFRA (a), 2011).