The government is considering plans to cut food waste by simplifying and clarifying the use of "best before" and "use by" dates on food packaging. The plan makes a lot of sense. Law professors tell their students that the principle of lawyer-client privilege exists to protect not clients but lawyers; we should all recognise the same principle in both "best before" (BB) and "use by" (UB) labelling on foodstuffs. They don't serve to protect consumers from harm. They protect manufacturers and retailers from lawsuits.
Consumers rely on the labels slavishly, and too many of us chuck out any number of products whose date has passed. That attitude contributes to the mountainous volume of edible food waste in the UK, now standing at 5.3m tonnes according a recent study jointly issued by WRAP and WWF. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) wants to cut that waste by simplifying the rules, and specifically by emphasising UB rather than BB.
The two terms mean completely different things. "Best before" indicates the date before which a product provides the most satisfying experience for the consumer. After BB-day, the apples will start to lose a little of their crunch and the mashed potatoes in the shepherds pie may dry out a little and start to go crusty. Both apple and pie are safe to eat, but they just won't be at their best.
BB dates are important for the food industry because they want consumers to think they sell nice food. For consumers, they are a complete waste of time. They do nothing to promote public health. Defra has got it exactly right in wanting to bin them (figuratively speaking).
UBs are different. This is the date after which, in theory, the product is not safe to eat. UB dates are most important in anything that contains animal products and especially in anything fresh, rather than preserved. A day or two past the UB date of smoked mackerel fillets – no problemo, for me anyway. Fresh mackerel – tread a little more carefully. The term of a UB date will be days away for fresh products, months or even years away if the product is preserved.
Now, officially I have to say: never, ever eat anything that has passed its UB date. Unofficially, we can probably agree that things aren't so simple – or so perilous. The date may say one thing, but the evidence of our senses, and of our plain old common sense, may say something different.
For one thing, there are major differences between one type of food and another. I've got a jar of anchovies in my fridge door whose BB passed late last year. As long as the fish remain covered by oil, I will leave it there. I've got the nub-end of a heavenly salami brought back from Rome last autumn and released from its vacuum pack a month ago. It's a little drier than it was when opened, but still delicious and still completely safe. If it dries out too much, I'll just chew harder. Throw it away? Never.
Needless to say, I would not keep fresh fish for such a long time. Or fresh sausages. But this is just the common sense you build up from shopping, cooking and eating over the years. Somehow I manage to buy all my fresh meat and fish from a butcher and a fishmonger, neither of whom provides BB or UB dates, without getting food poisoning. I think correct handling – storage, cleanliness, cooking – is far more important for food safety than the date stamped on a packet of cheddar.
Parenthetically: the anti-waste campaign should add another strategy, telling consumers to buy less stuff in the first place. I'm not sure if retailers would get behind that initiative, but it is the root cause of the problem. We throw away lots of food because we buy stuff we don't need.
Every experienced home cook has his or her own favourite tips for using things up and thereby avoiding food waste. My numero uno: plop that block of end-of-the-line, rock-hard Parmesan, including the rind, in a pot of minestrone. It turns vegetable soup into the food of the gods. And I'll bet you have your favourite waste avoidance stratagems, too. Go on, spill the beans and let's help each other keep our food off the top of the big waste mountain.
