A study by Dalhousie University reveals that 62% of Canadians are once morest removing the best before date.
• Read also: Towards the end of the expiry dates?
A few weeks ago, British supermarkets removed the expiry dates on nearly 500 products to avoid food waste. For their part, Canadians are keen on expiry dates. 73% refer to it for dairy products, 69% for seafood and 66% for meat.
“The grocers in England tell people: you are the most important managers, it is up to you to decide whether the product is good for you or not. But in Canada, we are still a long way off,” said Dalhousie University agri-food industry specialist Sylvain Charlebois.
The expiry date often represents the term “best before”. This is a suggestion, but the product does not represent a health hazard if consumed following the date indicated.
“There are a lot of products that don’t need a better before, but there are [quand même]. For example, salt, sugar, honey. These are all products that can be consumed in 100 years, but there is often a better date before,” added Sylvain Charlebois.
The expiry date indicates the date on which the product should no longer be consumed.
Canadians waste more than the average American and the average Briton. However, removing the expiration date would not be the best idea, according to experts.
“Removing the date is not necessarily the solution, because it has an interest, that of giving us an indication of freshness and quality of food […]. We should stop throwing away food because it is approaching its expiry date,” said expert in the fight once morest food waste, Éric Ménard.
