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Original poster

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

131 replies

Fiftythreepercent · 09/01/2022 20:54

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?

OP posts:
AllLopsided · 09/01/2022 23:44

At first I thought you were going to have to sniff it in the shop to see whether it was ok to buy Blush

I buy a week's worth of milk at a time in litre bottles and it rarely goes out of date. Some of the milk I bought on Thursday (6th) was dated 21st and some 23rd. It will be gone by the 14th! So I rarely have out of date milk, but if i did I would give it the sniff test (at home). Was very cross that the mince I bought on click and collect was use by the next day though.

PickAChew · 09/01/2022 23:49

I think the motivation is less about encouraging us, as consumers, to be less wasteful and more about them increasing their profits.

Whst come back would we have if we got a couple of litres of milk from there, opened it before the best before and it turned out to smell like old floor mop?

Sparklingbrook · 09/01/2022 23:51

@PickAChew

I think the motivation is less about encouraging us, as consumers, to be less wasteful and more about them increasing their profits.

Whst come back would we have if we got a couple of litres of milk from there, opened it before the best before and it turned out to smell like old floor mop?

You could return it for a refund like you can now.
JustWonderingIfYou · 09/01/2022 23:52

Milk always lasts ages after the date in our house- i suppose it differs depending on your fridge temperature and how often its opened.

Just use the best before- i don't really understand your issue. Its still going to have a date on it. Hopefully it will stop a bit of food waste.

LittleBearPad · 10/01/2022 00:24

@PickAChew

I think the motivation is less about encouraging us, as consumers, to be less wasteful and more about them increasing their profits.

Whst come back would we have if we got a couple of litres of milk from there, opened it before the best before and it turned out to smell like old floor mop?

Unless you’ve failed to store it properly however this isn’t going to happen
PickAChew · 10/01/2022 00:42

It's not like it's never the case that you get something home, open it soon, and it's off, though. I've found Tesco and Morrisons to be bad for this.

daisymade · 10/01/2022 00:46

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Andy2555 · 10/01/2022 01:46

Personally I have felt slightly unwell after after drinking milk a day past the use by date, I don’t think they’ve based this on scientific fact more a vein attempt to be seen to be doing something about climate change, I think they’d be better going back to recyclable cardboard cartoons instead of plastic if they’re looking to gain favour with the public

Andy2555 · 10/01/2022 01:47

Cartons*

BarbaraofSeville · 10/01/2022 05:25

^If Morrisons actually!wanted to DO something, they'd stop their ENORMOUS waste of food in store & instead of putting ENORMOUS amounts of food in the rubbish, they'd actually do what they claim to do and give it to people who need it.

It's not health & safety, they're unethical and would prefer to 'waste' it so people buy a newer product in store. Their staff aren't even allowed to take it home/eat it, it must be binned.

Changing to 'best before' is virtue signalling at best^

Morrisons are actually quite pro-active about reducing food waste in my experience. If you go to store an hour or two before closing, all the 'going out of date' stuff is reduced to pennies and they will actually move it to the tills and a member of staff will stand there offering it to people.

They're also the only supermarket on 'Too Good to Go' as far as I can see (we have all supermarkets locally and they're the only ones who come up as having things available) selling off bags of fresh produce for a couple of quid at the end of each day.

AlternativePerspective · 10/01/2022 05:46

I am blind. Have never been able to look at a use by date on a packet in my life and I’ve managed not to have food poisoning yet.

People seem to have lost the art of common sense. If it’s milk it should be good for at least a week, ditto cream. With meat/fish cook within a couple of days or put it in the freezer.

people really don’t need a date on the packet to tell them when they should use food.

As for the poster whose dh throws food out on the use by date, there would be major fallings out in my house if anyone did that. Not only does it lead to massive food waste, but to a waste of money as well…

CurtainTroubles · 10/01/2022 06:50

This reply has been deleted

Withdrawn at the user's request

YouWereGr8InLittleMenstruators · 10/01/2022 07:02

Good for Morrisons.
I do lots of 'reduced label' shopping and my family are still here to tell the tale. Where are people's common sense? If anything spoils food, it's more likely to be poor hygiene or insufficient refrigeration rather than a day or two past some date.

LawnFever · 10/01/2022 07:11

@FortniteBoysMum

I told dp I will now have to go to Tesco on my way home from work which is a bit out of my way rather than Morrisons along route. Will buy my milk and things elsewhere as a result of this. Personally think it's stupid because if your on the last day or day after with milk you generally smell it anyway to check if its OK.
Eh? Read that back to yourself, you smell the milk anyway, it’ll still have a best before date on it anyway.

Your post makes no sense whatsoever.

Recycledblonde · 10/01/2022 07:14

I don’t think I’ve ever looked at a sell by/use by date since I worked in a supermarket 35 years ago and was paid to. None of my family have even had a tummy bug in that time , let alone food poisoning. It’s really not difficult. My milk comes from the milkman and I don’t think it’s ever had a date on it. If it has it’s too small for me to read with crap eyesight.

delilahbucket · 10/01/2022 07:15

I think it's a super idea. I never go on a use by date for anything. We were using milk a week past its date just after Christmas, didn't even notice. So much food is wasted with use by dates when it is still perfectly fine.
To the person who thinks milk is already gone before the use by date, your fridge is clearly not cold enough or broken.
And no, half the country has not lost their sense of smell 🙄

LawnFever · 10/01/2022 07:20

@Andy2555

Personally I have felt slightly unwell after after drinking milk a day past the use by date

If milk is off enough to make you unwell you’d know about it before drinking it, it’s pure common sense, it’s incredibly obvious once milk has turned.

I think a lot of comments on this just show how people have lost the ability to use their own minds around whether food is off, it’s really depressing.

I get fruit & veg from the grocers, no date, meat from the butchers, no date - use your senses, freeze food if you’re not going to eat it straight away, stop relying on a printed date that’s often irrelevant anyway.

Luredbyapomegranate · 10/01/2022 07:25

They'll still be a best before date, so if you can't smell you can use that.

It's not an issue for customers' safety OP, but it should mean that less milk gets wasted which is better for the planet. It's sensible.

Rewis · 10/01/2022 07:25

I'm not sure I've ever even noticed 2 different dates on milk. But as long as there is a date on there, it won't be an issue for me. Taking it off completely and making making guess would not work.

ShitRunAway · 10/01/2022 07:27

Breastmilk,from a cow. Horrible thought.

StrayGoose · 10/01/2022 07:29

@MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry

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.
If this is happening, your fridge is not cold enough.
HappyDays40 · 10/01/2022 07:32

So you have to buy the milk fir it to actually be on the turn and you chuck it the next day. Or do they let you open and sniff before you buyConfused

LawnFever · 10/01/2022 07:34

@HappyDays40

So you have to buy the milk fir it to actually be on the turn and you chuck it the next day. Or do they let you open and sniff before you buyConfused
It will still have a best before date on, why would it be on the turn? Confused
User12398712 · 10/01/2022 07:38

Utterly ridiculous. I'm all for ignoring dates and sniffing instead but some people can't do that and it's really insensitive to announce this in the middle of a pandemic where many people have lost their sense of smell.

But, as so many people have pointed out, they aren't getting rid of the date at all, just changing it to best before. I can't see anybody changing their behaviour because of some wording, it has no meaningful difference. Anyone who went by the use by date is just going to go by the best before date instead.

Stupid, meaningless publicity stunt to get people talking about Morrisons. Looks like it's worked. (Oh, and "best before" uses more ink than "use by" so arguably more wasteful!)

Exhausteddog · 10/01/2022 07:41

I'm reasonable cavalier about best before dates on things like milk, cheese, butter, bread etc (not meat or fish) and would happily eat all past their best before dates but I wouldn't like it if there weren't dates on stuff as I always choose something with the longest sell by date as I feel that will be the freshest. I'm always moving items to see if the batch behind is a longer sell by date.