Morrisons - to think this might backfire?

[Magicpaintbrush]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59928650
Morrisons are planning to remove the 'use by' date on their milk to prevent food waste, the idea being that people sniff it before they use it instead. I think reducing food waste is brilliant but ... AIBU to think that quite a lot of people will chuck milk out even sooner without 'use by' guidance as they won't know if it's still ok to use. And if, as the article suggests, milk is often fine for a few days after the use by date, why don't they just extend the use by date instead then ? I also think it will lead some people to chuck it on the 'best before' date if that's the only date on the label, thus wasting even more. I don't personally think I would trust a sniff test, I wouldn't feel confident about it. I think this new policy might lead to more waste not less, and would put me off buying it. Or is it just me?

The trouble I have is all milk smells off to me as does all lamb. The only way I can tell with milk is to taste it as I like the taste which is weird with it all smelling rotten.

I literally cannot remember the last time I threw away any milk because it had gone off. We get through the stuff far too quickly for that.

Supermarkets would do far better to reduce food waste by removing the 'use by' dates from root vegetables and potatoes, which have been designed by Mother Nature to last for ages anyway. I've been ignoring those dates for years. Only today we ate some parsnips with a 'use by' date of 31st December. They were absolutely fine.

Our milk is never in the fridge long enough.

Be no good in my house as ds (ASD) gets very nervous about dates.

@Dinosaurwoman

If you can’t smell anything this doesn’t seem to work very well

Then chuck it on the best before date, the same way you would for the use by date.

@Whitefire

Be no good in my house as ds (ASD) gets very nervous about dates.

Why would it be no good? Does he make the distinction between use by and best before?

I don’t think it will make any difference to waste. People seem to have been brainwashed to throw food away on the date shown whether that be a best before date or use by date. I work in a supermarket and on my last shift a woman handed me 2 bags of chocolate (that had been reduced) complaining that they were several days past their best before date (and therefore implying that they needed binning).

It is not illegal to sell food that has gone past its best before date but the look on her face was one of disgust as she handed me the packets. I just think there’s no hope for reducing food waste when people seem to have no common sense.

We are currently drinking milk with BBE 29/12. It's fine. But I've had to peel the label off as DH wouldn't drink it if he knew what the date was. Well done Morrisons for taking away these ridiculous arbitrary numbers that lead to so much waste.

Also - on Christmas Day we had several lunch guests. When I came to cook the dessert I found out that our SR flour was not only past its BB but was infested with flour mites. I cooked the dessert anyway and disguised any mite residue with cinnamon. It was enjoyed by all and no one suffered any ill effects.

Even fresh milk smells off to me so I'd be screwed then. I test it by seeing if it either curdles in my cuppa or glugs out the bottle like cottage cheese

No, despite us explaining again and again. He sees a date and that's it.

We get glass bottles delivered so no dates at all on our milk!!!!

I agree TheDeck ... many people just have no common sense, you frequently see it on here with questions such as 'can I eat chicken one day past it's sell by date?' . Food doesn't go 'bad' at one minute past minute.

I grew up in the era where we never had use by/sell by dates .... most of us have survived . My DM (89), like many of her generation, is horrified by the unnecessary food waste these days.

@Whitefire

No, despite us explaining again and again. He sees a date and that's it.

But it will still have a date, it's just a Best Before instead of a Use By.

You're right, OP.

The "Best By" is pure marketing, leads to premature binning and therefore buying more.

Shame on Morrisons.

I'm surprised it's legal not to have a "Use By" date. Hang on, it is a legal requirement to have one or the other.

HOW ARE PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTANDING THIS? THEY ARE SIMPLY CHANGING THE WORDS "USE BY" TO THE WORDS "BEST BEFORE"

@Whitefire

No, despite us explaining again and again. He sees a date and that's it.

That means this will work in your house and won't be an issue. He will still see the date.

People will just go by the Best Before date instead. But to claim that people should just use the sniff test, during a pandemic which causes many people to lose their sense of smell long term, is a bit silly really.

FWIW, I have always disregarded the date, & go by the sniff test & whether it curdles in hot drinks. But I recognise thag many people don't.

@TimeForTeaAndG

We get glass bottles delivered so no dates at all on our milk!!!!

Same here, from farm 2 miles away. We go by smell and if looks chunky (nice! 😃)

It's a moot point anyway, we get through 6 pints a day (mainly him) so the milk is never in the fridge long enough.

I would need a date that allows me to have an idea of how old the milk is - not everyone has a fully working sense of smell. So a best before date might work ok.

More needs to be done to educate people if this really is a huge problem. But cynical me wonders if the real reason is that allows them wiggle room and money saving with stock control.

It's just you. Surely it's a matter of common sense - if milk smells ok, it's fine. It's that simple.

OP what do you think might happen to you if you accidentally took a sip of milk on the turn?

@CeilingWax

I would need a date that allows me to have an idea of how old the milk is - not everyone has a fully working sense of smell. So a best before date might work ok.

More needs to be done to educate people if this really is a huge problem. But cynical me wonders if the real reason is that allows them wiggle room and money saving with stock control.

How would it give them wiggle room?

A product with a use by of 9/1/22 should be wasted in store today.
A product with a best before of 9/1/22 should be wasted in store today.

Buy a sharpie and write the date you bought it on if it’s such a worry. But it’ll have a Best Befire so there’s no need.

Might be a problem with sniff tests during this pandemic...given lots of people seem to lose their sense of smell - often for an extended period.

That aside it's not a bad idea. Worth trying. They can always reintroduce use by dates if it doesn't work out.

Is people chuck out milk when it smells fine then that’s plain stupid. Morrisons changes won’t make a difference to that.

I don’t know what the fuss about the lack of smell due to the pandemic is. Bin it on the BB date if that’s the case (just like presumably you would do now with the Use By) Get someone else to have a sniff?