Greenpeace long-term check for Easter: Food can be eaten without hesitation even 14 days past the expiry date – BILD VIDEO

Best before date is just a “guarantee of freshness” – not an expiration date

Vienna (OTS) – Greenpeace has started a long-term test on the shelf life of food. Over a period of three months, the environmental protection organization has six different foods tested for their edibility in the laboratory of the Food Research Institute (LVA) following the best-before date (MHD) has passed. Products are examined that – in keeping with the approaching Easter season – are often bought primarily for Easter snacks, including eggs, Easter ham and Striezel. The first results show that all tested products remain edible 14 days following the end of the BBD. According to Greenpeace calculations, around 830,000 tons of edible food currently end up in the garbage. The environmental organization is demanding legally binding measures from the federal government to halve food waste by 2030.

“Anyone who looks, smells and tastes can quickly and easily determine whether a product is still edible. An exceeded sell-by date is by no means a reason to throw food away. The Greenpeace long-term test now also proves that,” says Sebastian Theissing-Matei, agricultural expert at Greenpeace. As in 2017, Greenpeace has six products regularly inspected over a period of three months following the best-before date has expired: Fresh eggs, boiled and colored eggs, Easter ham, cream cheese, mixed rye bread and Easter buns. “The microbiological and sensory tests carried out in the laboratory have shown that all products are completely fine in terms of quality and taste, even 14 days past the best-before date,” says Theissing-Matei. Only in the case of cream cheese were slight changes in consistency and taste detected during the sensory examination. However, the product can still be consumed.

Many consumers already do not rely on the best-before date – for good reason: “The best-before date only says until when a product is unopened and, if stored correctly, is edible. But it’s not an expiry date,” says Theissing-Matei. In order to avoid any questions of liability, the MHD is given by many manufacturers very early. According to calculations by the environmental protection organization Greenpeace, around 830,000 tons of edible food end up in the garbage in Austria every year. That corresponds to 26 kilograms per second. The data on food waste in Austria is poor – in many areas there are only estimates. Depending on the estimate, one third to one half of the food waste in Austria comes from private households.

The Austrian government has set itself the goal of halving per capita food waste by 2030. In order for this goal to be within reach, however, legally binding measures with specific reduction targets are needed, from food production in agriculture to food sales in supermarkets. “In times of climate and energy crisis, we cannot afford to literally produce food for the bin. Politicians must create full transparency and set targets that can be sanctioned for the individual sectors. Then companies and consumers will have to do their part and use valuable resources carefully,” said the Greenpeace expert.

You can find the link to the laboratory results here: You can find the link to the best-before date factsheet here:

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Photos: © Mitja Kobal / Greenpeace
Videos: © Greenpeace

Questions & contact:

Sebastian Theissing-Matei
agricultural expert
Greenpeace in Austria
Tel.: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]

Réka Tercza
press secretary
Greenpeace in Austria
Tel.: + 43 (0)664 85 74 59 8
Email: [e-mail]