Best before code, co-op apples

[changer2010]

My apples say C13 on them, does that mean that it's 13 March please anyone?

Don't think they have to put a best before date on fruit and veg now they should keep well if you store them out of the sun.

Yes.

Thanks @uhOhOP ! @Tillygan60 they still have some indication for stock control, I think.

Apples keep for months. And when they go off, its extremely obvious.

Most supermarkets don't have dates on fruit anymore, even for stock control purposes. It's designed to minimise waste.

I've got perfectly edible apples in my fridge that I bought in November.

Yes the 13 will mean 13th March. They need some sort of coding for their stock control.

Wonder if C = 3rd month I.e. March

And OP is talking about pre packed fruit and they do tend have dates or codes on them

Why would you need to know? All you need to know is if they're still nice and crisp and not gone bad. Even if they've gone a bit wrinkly but not gone bad they're still perfectly edible. I've never heard of a case of food poisoning from apples.

They do, but they're pretty irrelevant to the customer.

They arent irrelevant when buying them as I choose the pack with the longest date on them!

I’ve found an issue with this no dates to avoid food waste by people throwing out because they’ve reached the date instead of the food being off.

sometimes I end up with 2 packs of the same thing, purchased different dates. Previously, I would have checked the dates to make sure I open the oldest first. Now, there’s no way of knowing - so I could end up opening newest first then the other going off before I use - resulting in more food waste. All because some people are daft enough to throw away perfectly good food

Which is fair enough for soft fruits, but apples last for months if stored correctly.

You can always write the purchase date on yourself.

I don't get why you'd need to consider a use by date for apples anyway, it's clear when they've gone off and when they're ok to eat

@StrongerFitter there is likely to be a code rather than a date on the packaging that denotes the best before date. I buy packs with the best date but go by their appearance when deciding if they are good to use or past their best

Fruit & veg best-before checklist:

Has it gone manky?

Yes = throw it away
No = eat it

There you go.

Exactly this. Apples keep for months. They won’t explode at midnight once reaching their sell by.