M&S to scrap milk use by dates

dealyboy

Oh dear ...

Marks & Spencer scraps milk use-by dates to cut waste - BBC News

Is this really a good idea? ... will be replaced by best before dates.

A._Badger

dealyboy said:

Oh dear ...

Marks & Spencer scraps milk use-by dates to cut waste - BBC News

Is this really a good idea?

No. Not if you don't use much milk so need the longest life you can get. In the end it will lead to more waste, not less as people will throw away milk they wouldn't have bought if they'd seen on the shelf how old it was.. Just more virtue signalling.

badmemory

I doubt it will make any difference at all.   Most people who automatically bin things on BBE dates tend to do the same with use by dates too.  That is why so many have removed any dates at all & use codes & I will still look for the highest code when buying.  Pity they can't just rotate their stock efficiently.  I did wonder if it could be something to do with being able to sell things past their useby date but not after their sell by date.

p00hsticks

A._Badger said:

dealyboy said:

Oh dear ...

Marks & Spencer scraps milk use-by dates to cut waste - BBC News

Is this really a good idea?

No. Not if you don't use much milk so need the longest life you can get. In the end it will lead to more waste, not less as people will throw away milk they wouldn't have bought if they'd seen on the shelf how old it was.. Just more virtue signalling.

That doesn;t make sense as you can simply look for the longest BB date rather than the longest Use By date. 

I'm with badmemory, I can't see it's going to make much difference, as the majority (?) like us who check dates will still look for and pick the freshest. It's just going to be the few who don't bother to check the dates at all who may end up picking up a carton past it's BB date that under the current regime would have been removed from the shelf and disposed of.   

A._Badger

p00hsticks said:

A._Badger said:

dealyboy said:

Oh dear ...

Marks & Spencer scraps milk use-by dates to cut waste - BBC News

Is this really a good idea?

No. Not if you don't use much milk so need the longest life you can get. In the end it will lead to more waste, not less as people will throw away milk they wouldn't have bought if they'd seen on the shelf how old it was.. Just more virtue signalling.

That doesn;t make sense as you can simply look for the longest BB date rather than the longest Use By date. 

I'm with badmemory, I can't see it's going to make much difference, as the majority (?) like us who check dates will still look for and pick the freshest. It's just going to be the few who don't bother to check the dates at all who may end up picking up a carton past it's BB date that under the current regime would have been removed from the shelf and disposed of.   

That assumes it has a BB date, doesn't it? If it doesn't then what I said applies, as intended.

Nelliegrace

I don’t think I want to buy opened bottles of milk which customers have been sniffing and tasting. 
Mrs Beaton recommended dipping a knitting needle in the milk in the shop to see if it was watered down. 

dealyboy

May I sit on the fence a bit (as long as it's not barbed wire) ...

I'm with @p00hsticks on checking dates whether it's best before, sell buy, display until or use by ... I always check and as @A._Badger does I go for the longest period. In the case of milk I won't buy if it's under 7 days to go, but ask if there's any fresher telling the colleague I need it to last over a week. Generally there are bottles with 9 or 10 days 'life'.

On the other cheek I am concerned for the casual shopper and children, it's not like vegetables or meat where it's pretty obvious when the product has gone off but would only cause a bad taste. In the case of milk there is the separation point (curds/whey) if not in the bottle then in the cup of tea or coffee, but there's a couple of days before that when the milk may look fine but in fact has 'turned' and may cause gastroenteritis.

I do think it's poor customer service though and passes the buck. Does it reduce waste? ... I don't think so. In one form or another, in landfill or pumped into the sea, produced by the retailer or the consumer, there will still be waste.

Is there really such retailer waste currently? I have seen the 'wolves' at the end of a day hoovering up all the reductions.

p00hsticks

A._Badger said:

p00hsticks said:

A._Badger said:

dealyboy said:

Oh dear ...

Marks & Spencer scraps milk use-by dates to cut waste - BBC News

Is this really a good idea?

No. Not if you don't use much milk so need the longest life you can get. In the end it will lead to more waste, not less as people will throw away milk they wouldn't have bought if they'd seen on the shelf how old it was.. Just more virtue signalling.

That doesn;t make sense as you can simply look for the longest BB date rather than the longest Use By date. 

I'm with badmemory, I can't see it's going to make much difference, as the majority (?) like us who check dates will still look for and pick the freshest. It's just going to be the few who don't bother to check the dates at all who may end up picking up a carton past it's BB date that under the current regime would have been removed from the shelf and disposed of.   

That assumes it has a BB date, doesn't it? If it doesn't then what I said applies, as intended.

Have you actually read the article that we are discussing (linked to in the OP) ?. 

It specifically says that 'The dates, which are meant to tell customers when food is safe to eat, will be replaced by best-before dates instead, which are recommendations on freshness.'

A._Badger

p00hsticks said:

A._Badger said:

p00hsticks said:

A._Badger said:

dealyboy said:

Oh dear ...

Marks & Spencer scraps milk use-by dates to cut waste - BBC News

Is this really a good idea?

No. Not if you don't use much milk so need the longest life you can get. In the end it will lead to more waste, not less as people will throw away milk they wouldn't have bought if they'd seen on the shelf how old it was.. Just more virtue signalling.

That doesn;t make sense as you can simply look for the longest BB date rather than the longest Use By date. 

I'm with badmemory, I can't see it's going to make much difference, as the majority (?) like us who check dates will still look for and pick the freshest. It's just going to be the few who don't bother to check the dates at all who may end up picking up a carton past it's BB date that under the current regime would have been removed from the shelf and disposed of.   

That assumes it has a BB date, doesn't it? If it doesn't then what I said applies, as intended.

Have you actually read the article that we are discussing (linked to in the OP) ?. 

It specifically says that 'The dates, which are meant to tell customers when food is safe to eat, will be replaced by best-before dates instead, which are recommendations on freshness.'

No, I had not 'actually' read the BBC article. Assuming it is accurate then the whole thing does sound completely pointless. Actually.

BikingBud

Are people really that stupid?

Buying with the longest dates gives you more time to use it but most, including those above, do not understand the difference between "best before" and "use by"

Use by mean it becomes unsafe
Best before means the quality deteriorates but it does not become unsafe.

Also when short date codes have not been sold the yellow tickets will be applied and those wanting to purchase will and will save money as well as having something like 4-5 days to use.

The difficulty is when people throw things away rather than consider if it can be used. In the same manner that you can see carrots go off there are indicator and markers for milk going off, smells different and curdles. 

Let's get back to understanding what we can do with food and if milk is on the turn, likely to curdle in your tea, use it for different purposes. It makes great scones!

sevenhills

So long as they don't copy the Asda who just put numbers on their tomatoes.