Morrisons scraps 'use by' date on milk in favour of sniff test

[6Foot2]

Link: Morrisons scraps 'use by' date on milk in favour of sniff test - BBC News

 

Supermarket Morrisons is to scrap 'use by' dates on most of its milk in a move it says will stop millions of pints being poured down the sink.

 

The retailer will instead place 'best before' on 90% of its own-brand milk and encourage customers to use a sniff test to check quality.

 

Recycling charity Wrap said Morrisons was the first supermarket to make the move, which starts later this month.

 

Ian Goode, senior milk buyer at Morrisons, said it was a "bold step".

 

Milk is the third most wasted food and drink product in the UK, after potatoes and bread, with around 490 million pints wasted every year, according to Wrap.

 

It also estimates 85 million pints of milk waste may be due to customers following 'use by' labels, despite research showing it can be used days after the date.

 

Morrisons believes the move could save seven million pints of its own-brand milk being poured away each year.

 

Consumer habits

'Use by' are the dates until which perishable food can be cooked and consumed safely. 'Best before' on food is guidance for when the product should be consumed to get the best quality, taste and texture.

 

Morrisons said its research showed that milk does not need to be labelled as a perishable food. "The dates on the milk will stay the same - it is what we are asking customers to do which is changing," the supermarket said.

 

Mr Goode said: "Wasted milk means wasted effort by our farmers and unnecessary carbon being released into the atmosphere.

 

"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."

 

Marcus Gover, of Wrap, 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."

 

Morrisons has already scrapped 'use by' dates across some of its own-brand yogurt and hard cheese ranges.

 

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it was alright to have 'use by' or 'best before' on milk depending on the processing and type. But there must be clear labelling, and the dates printed on all food and drink must be based on "robust evidence about the product concerned".

 

The FSA also pointed out that when dealing with food generally, sniffing is not an appropriate safety test, especially with products that could cause food poisoning.

[MatthewL]

I've been buying the filtered milk from Tesco lasts weeks, no smell once its at the date but does taste a bit off. The normal milks you don't seem to get long on them in some places.

[FN-GM]

Makes sense to me. I tend to do this with most things. If it smells and looks ok I will go for it.

[elsiegee40]

We drink skimmed milk and frankly the use by/best before date is a work of fiction. It lasts for a very long time.

[DeGrimmy]

This headline is so sensational - The word "Scraps" is being used quite liberally here without mentioning the "Best before" replacement, in my opinion.

 

I don't think this is going to change much in the way of shoppers' habits and wastage - I'm sure most people check the date on things before picking something up so that they get the longest life possible, which means that supermarkets will still be left with the stock that expires sooner. Using "Best before" makes sense to me, at least for semi-skimmed and skimmed milk.

[Duranis]

Milk just doesn't last long enough in our house for this to be an issue. I like where this is going though, except for the fact that I have pretty much zero sense of smell so always get my partner to do the sniff test for me

[DangerousDaveUK]

Supermarket milk tends to be on the limit anyway. I've had online orders delivered and they've sent milk that expires that day

 

I get my milk from the local shop, lasts way longer than the supermarket stuff!

[Koldov]

I drink 'a lot' of milk (normally milky coffee - which is pretty much all I drink) and was a little concerned when I overheard this briefly on the news, thinking that they were doing away with dates completely (how do I know how long it has been sitting on the shelf?).

 

But honestly I feel it is a bit of a non-story as I'm not sure what Morrisons are trying to achieve... and a little bit concerned over who this is actually going to impact.

 

I am going to digress a little here (but hopefully not encourage off-topic posts and derail the thread as this is relevant to the subject) as over the weekend I read an article about Veganuary and the fact that animals are being produced for the food chain regardless of whether you are eating meat or not for a month... In it the author referenced milking cows as a relatable example (as in the cows already exist and need to be milked - I know that in a greater more expansive discussion that they exist at all is precisely some people's issue, but that's not the point of this discussion) so I don't want to get into any ethical discussion on the rights or wrongs of the cows being farmed for milk...

 

So, that being said:

 

10 Cows produce milk and they need to be milked (obviously).

20 Farmer sells milk to Morrisons (at a ludicrously small profit - or not at all sometimes).

30 Morrisons sell milk to consumers (profit for Morrisons).

40 Consumer throws milk away and hopefully recycles the container.

50 GOTO 10

 

If the consumer doesn't throw the milk away (and therefore goes to buy some more) who benefits exactly?

Edited January 10, 2022 by Koldov

[Garacesh]

With 3 of us in the house and a lot of brews, and we don't shop at Morrisons anyway, so I doubt this makes a difference to us, but in general, this seems like a bit of a rubbish policy, tbh. From both a food safety standard and an ableist standard.

 

Firstly, not everybody has a (good) sense of smell! What do those folks do? Stop using it once you can chew it? I know they could just buy another brand, but generally when somebody makes a choice like this and makes a big fuss about it it's because they intend for it to be seen as oohh this is a great idea, cut down waste, etc, everybody else follow suit.

Secondly, as mentioned, food safety. Nobody wants to be drinking spoiled milk.

[DangerousDaveUK]

To quote Red Dwarf:

 

We're on the dogs milk......

[southhamster]

I once poisoned myself with dodgy milk! Half term install in one of the smallest schools in Devon where things were a bit rough and ready. The caretaker left the school open for me and I'd been told "help yourself to tea and coffee." Mid morning I did and had a good swig before I thought "hmm that tastes a bit..oh" I lost the next day of the install being sick. Lesson learnt I always took my own milk in for holiday installs as anything left in the fridge is creating germ warfare.

[steveg]

With 3 of us in the house and a lot of brews, and we don't shop at Morrisons anyway, so I doubt this makes a difference to us, but in general, this seems like a bit of a rubbish policy, tbh. From both a food safety standard and an ableist standard.

 

Firstly, not everybody has a (good) sense of smell! What do those folks do? Stop using it once you can chew it? I know they could just buy another brand, but generally when somebody makes a choice like this and makes a big fuss about it it's because they intend for it to be seen as oohh this is a great idea, cut down waste, etc, everybody else follow suit.

Secondly, as mentioned, food safety. Nobody wants to be drinking spoiled milk.

 

They will still have the exact same date on the bottle, it will just be preceded by Best Before rather than Use by. Other than the publicity the change is getting, I don't think many people will notice or pay attention to the wording and will carry on exactly as they were before.

[hardtailstar]

Will the workers do the sniff test if the milk is still on sale at the use by date?

[DangerousDaveUK]

Will the workers do the sniff test if the milk is still on sale at the use by date?

Nah, they'll just add it to the online order shops to get rid of it