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?

Milk will still have a date on it

Just made my first T of the day, milk is use by 05 jan. still absolutely fine

This is why humans as a species are doomed. All happy to watch David Attenborough et al tell us we are destroying the planet, followed by lots of hand wringing and “oh isn’t it terrible. We must DO something”. As long as “something” doesn't cause even the tiniest bit of disruption or change to our usual way of life. Food waste is appalling. Morrisons are trying, in some small way, to start to tackle it and everyone is up in arms.

At first I was gobsmacked that anybody wouldn't use a sniff/taste test. I have always checked butter and milk by tasting it and would never bother looking at a date. Then I remembered we drink enough cows milk to keep a small dairy in business.

One of my kids can't drink cows milk and his milk goes a lot slower and we rely on dates because it isn't easy to tell if it's off by sniffing and is beyond gross if you taste it. For people who don't drink much cows milk I imagine it's similar?

Fuss over nothing, use your senses and common sense like people did in the old days.

I think they should do with bread, bakery, butter, juice etc but milk will be hard... I don't have a sense of smell. Sure I can sit and siv it through but I'm disabled and don't have the energy for it.

As previous posters have suggested, you could treat the BB date like the UB date. The rest of us can use our own judgment and common sense, I think it's taken the pandemic to make me realise how many people rely on rules to follow and are sent into a tailspin if they are encouraged to use their own judgment and common sense based on info/guidance.
Look at the travel traffic light system, a lot of people coped when they just couldn't go, they were confused when given the traffic light guidance as they had to judge it for themselves. There was a big split between the people I know, those two could use the guidance and use their common sense, and those who couldn't were confused by it and wanted the 'hard rules' back.
The same thing is happening in this post, some are happy to use common sense with BB dates and others want to be told to use milk be a certain date.

Well the information is passed on by Morrison from the Institute of No Shit Sherlock.
Those with a sense of smell and taste carry on as you were.
Those without, use the Best Before Date.
I feel I must have missed some vital part of the story.

I have no sense of smell and I think it's a good idea. Food waste is horrifying.

If I'm ever unsure, I get one of my kids to sniff for me, or if they're not around, I pour a little bit out and taste it. It's not hard!

I'd have more of an issue with things like chicken and seafood that really can make you ill, so I don't take chances with those.

Milk is always used past the use by date in my house. Skimmed lasts the longest. However I'm funny unreasonable about eggs past the use by date though.

@BooksAndGin

I think they should do with bread, bakery, butter, juice etc but milk will be hard... I don't have a sense of smell. Sure I can sit and siv it through but I'm disabled and don't have the energy for it.

You can use the best before date that will still be on the milk.

I personally won’t buy milk from Morrison’s any more as I don’t like this approach. I think it’s too complicated for people with learning disabilities and some elderly people. There are better ways to cut the waste and the timing of their decision is really stupid considering how Covid affects sense of smell.

I've always used the sniff test rather than throw milk away because it's passed a certain date. No change for me.

@greenlynx

I personally won’t buy milk from Morrison’s any more as I don’t like this approach. I think it’s too complicated for people with learning disabilities and some elderly people. There are better ways to cut the waste and the timing of their decision is really stupid considering how Covid affects sense of smell.

The elderly people will be fine. It will be what they've always done. It's the young people who won't know what to do.

@greenlynx isn’t having one date a much simpler concept?

I think often people get confused between best before/use by anyway so reducing it to a single date can surely only simplify the system.

If you aren't sure about milk and can't smell it put a small amount in a mug & microwave it. If it has gone off it will curdle. Easy.

It's still going to have a best before date if you prefer to throw perfectly good milk out on its date.

It won't harm you because it's gone a bit sour, so if you can't taste it no harm done anyway.

Sometimes milk doesn't smell when it's gone off, many a time I've poured in a tea, then noticed the curdle, and im a sniffer before I use too.

@greenlynx

I personally won’t buy milk from Morrison’s any more as I don’t like this approach. I think it’s too complicated for people with learning disabilities and some elderly people. There are better ways to cut the waste and the timing of their decision is really stupid considering how Covid affects sense of smell.

I don’t see that having a date of Best Before is complicated. Plus the elderly will remember a time when there were no dates at all as a PP said they’ll be fine.

@LawnFever
The current system is fine because it’s the same everywhere and people are taught in certain way.
I use fruits and vegs beyond their best before date but milk is different as I put raw milk in my tea.
Sniffing is very subtle testing, not all people can rely on it.

Just reading this with a cup of tea. Just went and looked at the use by date on my Tesco 2 pinter of skimmed. 24th Dec. Tastes fine, and I can taste/smell even slightly off milk at 100 yards so mine is fine. There's at least half a pint left (probably more) and I will keep on using it. I never look at the use by dates on eggs, dairy, fruit, veg. Meat and fish I look at it and then base the decision on look and smell.

@greenlynx

I personally won’t buy milk from Morrison’s any more as I don’t like this approach. I think it’s too complicated for people with learning disabilities and some elderly people. There are better ways to cut the waste and the timing of their decision is really stupid considering how Covid affects sense of smell.

It's not stupid at all and will actually help some people with learning disabilities, eg autism, because if we stop telling people that the milk will poison them at 00.01 on the day after the use by date, which is what the current system is incorrectly doing, they will be a lot more willing to use what is almost certainly still fresh milk because it's not breaking 'the rules'.

The elderly probably don't even look at the date anyway because they will remember times before such things (and fridges!) even existed.

@greenlynx

I personally won’t buy milk from Morrison’s any more as I don’t like this approach. I think it’s too complicated for people with learning disabilities and some elderly people. There are better ways to cut the waste and the timing of their decision is really stupid considering how Covid affects sense of smell.

So do you disagree with best before dates on other products too, or just milk? Is it only confusing because it used to have a use by date?

I'm pretty sure people with learning disabilities that can understand a use by date will be able to use the best before date in exactly the same way - and those of us that get the difference can use the sniff test.

Do people actually throw food away when it reaches the use by date without first checking whether it’s spoiled? I regularly eat stuff that’s gone beyond the date that is perfectly fine. Had some pastrami at the weekend that was two days out but looked and smelled absolutely fine.