Confusing ‘best before dates’ are leading to massive amounts of food waste

How willing are you to consume a product slightly past its best before date?

A new National study claims most Canadians are saying “no thanks” to items past a printed date and it's leading to massive amounts of waste.

The report conducted by National Zero Waste Council, claims best before dates are confusing consumers who believe food past its labels dates could be unhealthy.

According to the council, every Canadian wastes almost 400 kilograms of food a year and about half of that waste happens in homes.

One of the biggest culprits appears to be the best before date on food packaging, many consumers admitting to tossing food when it passes the advised date.

With the exception of products like eggs, the council argues those dates often refer to a product's quality and not whether it is actually safe to consume or not.

"Food items have an array of date labels that cause consumers to be wary of buying or consuming food close to “best before”, “use by”, “sell by” and “expiry” dates," reads the report.

"Greater clarity about the information these date labels provide, and a change in wording would reduce the unnecessary disposal of safe and healthy food, either by consumers or businesses who remove them prematurely from their shelves."

The report also recommends improving legibility, placement and consistency of text formats, which further confuses consumers.

Improved shelf life packaging and food portions were highlighted as ways to reduce consumer waste as well.

To read the full report, click here.