To say no Morrisons now is not a good time to introduce a sniff test

[Fiftythreepercent]

BBC News reporting today that Morrisons is removing use by dates from its milk in favour of best before and encouraging consumers to take a sniff test when deciding whether to use the milk or not.

Tremendous timing Morrisons since I’ve not been able to smell more than 20% of anything since Covid in August. Left on gas? Nope. Chopping onions? Not a whiff. Gone off milk. Not a hope in hell.

Me and half the country?

Some people do not have a good sense of smell anyway. What are Morrison's hoping to gain through this pointless exercise?

Pre-Covid I was the official Monday morning office milk sniffer. I’d check all the pints in the fridge and see which ones were still with us.

Perhaps I should make a charge for my services in the brave new world when offices reopen.

Presumably trying to get people to use their common sense when it comes to whether milk is off or not. Most people can actually taste or smell if something is off (I get you and some others are currently an exception) but many people will also chuck something away just because of a date not because it is actually off. I think it is a good thing that they are trying to do something about the awful food waste we have in this country.

I’m torn on this:

• in my experience milk usually is off by the time you get to the use by date
• but use by dates in general are so super cautious that they just lead to loads of waste
• DH lost his sense of smell a few years ago so can’t smell test anything (including a car fire, didn’t realise until the flames were coming through the floor )

Just use it by the best before instead if you can't tell? Or check if it goes lumpy when added to a hot drink.

Tbh I always sniff milk anyway. The amount of times I’ve opened one with several days left to go on the date and it’s already turning.

Not good for those who are anosmic. Even before covid that was estimated over 3 million people (some temporarily affected, some permanent).

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.”

Hmmmmm

Yep. I cannot smell properly more than a year after covid

Totally fine. If you have no sense of smell, use it by the date on the bottle, just the same as you would have done anyway.

The only difference is that the date will be labelled as a "best before" instead of a "use by".

If this gives some people confidence to use milk that's still good after the date, them great.

Few people would buy milk for more than a week at a time would they? It's fine for a week.

They're quite clear that they're not removing dates, they're just encouraging people not to waste milk if it's not necessary. If you can't smell nothing changes, if you can hopefully you'll waste less food (and save yourself some money).

So yab-massively- unreasonable. (And the research suggests the vast majority of those who experience anosmia after Covid recover their sense of smell within months so it's hardly half the country anyway)

I hate milk and only buy it for my dd and her cereal there's no way I could do a sniff test without gagging !!

There’s still going to be a best before date, I don’t see the issue whatsoever.

If you can’t smell it look at the date.

I rarely look at the date on anything tbh, it’s really obvious when food is off.

Oh I missed that there was still going to be a date on. For some reason I completely misread and thought they were removing dates altogether. I think I should go to bed.

Wish I could get my DH to do this. The moment the clock strikes midnight marking the beginning of best before date the whole lot goes down the sink.

Just use soya milk its better for the planet

I think it's a good idea. People think something with a use by date goes off at the stroke of midnight and chuck out perfectly good food. A best before date is inviting the consumer to use a bit of common sense. If you can't smell properly, for whatever reason, just pretend the best before date is a use by date and carry on as before.

Cross post with WetLookKnitwear!

There’s still going to be a best before date, I don’t see the issue whatsoever.

Exactly, Morrisons are - admirably - trying to address the issue of horrendous food waste and of people throwing out food that’s perfectly fine.

Use it up to the Best Before if it bothers you, but for the rest of us we’ll be able to use our common sense (not least been use milk is usually absolutely fine beyond the use by/best before date as long as it’s been stored properly).

Must be something wrong with your fridge (or the supermarket fridge) if milk is turning before the use by date.
Mill from the major supermarkets usually lasts a week or so past the use by I've found.

@WetLookKnitwear

Wish I could get my DH to do this. The moment the clock strikes midnight marking the beginning of best before date the whole lot goes down the sink.

This would infuriate me. Who is he to dictate that you can't use the milk past the use by date?

If you can't smell try it in a cup of tea if it's on the turn then it'll curdle immediately (ie lumpy floaty bits) if not its fine.
Milk is like eggs neither should have use by dates (for eggs do the float test)

If you don’t like it then just continue to chuck it on the best before date. It is such an non-issue, it’s just a supermarket making a token nod at trying to be sightly less wasteful and idiots kicking up a fuss pretending that they don’t understand.

@oviraptor21

Must be something wrong with your fridge (or the supermarket fridge) if milk is turning before the use by date. Mill from the major supermarkets usually lasts a week or so past the use by I've found.

I agree. I totally ignore milk (and cream) dates as they are so conservative. Taste, look and smell.