Unfortunately, it’s something we’re all guilty of…
We throw things in the bin because the best before date has passed, rather than inspecting the true state of our produce and determining for ourselves whether it’s any good.
After all, the label states it’s past its prime, therefore it must be?!
The truth is that it’s often still good enough to eat and throwing it away is a monumental waste.
So, we’re now really pleased to see more retailers scrapping best before dates and encouraging us to use our better judgment to determine just how edible something that has passed its best before date is.
So, what are the benefits and why is becoming less reliant on best before dates actually a really good thing? It boils down to two key reasons:
1. Produces less food waste
It goes without saying that there will be a vast reduction in the number of items thrown in the bin, just because they’ve passed their best before date.
And as the UK throws away around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in a single year, it’s not hard to imagine the positive change this can begin to make…
By reducing food waste, we can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are ultimately contributing to climate change.
Tackling this is something we are passionate about at Athleat, hence why we selected DPD as our courier (on their clean, green delivery mission) and have been looking at ways in which we can improve our packaging too.
2. Kinder on your wallet
It’s so easily done – we inadvertently miss an item passing its best before date and feel obliged to throw it out and replace it with something fresher.
By removing best before dates and relying on your own judgement, you are far less likely to throw the item out – not just reducing food waste but also saving pennies on replacing the item.
With the rising cost of living, this is a welcome change.
Other ways to minimise food waste
Here are a few more ways in which you can begin to minimise food waste at home:
- Just like you can with our meat, consider freezing any items that you’re unsure you can use before they spoil. If you’re unsure about what you can freeze or how long it can be frozen for, click here to check out some great advice.
- If you’re unsure whether you will be able to freeze or correctly store items to keep them fresh for longer, try to just buy what you need. We understand this can be difficult, as you want to limit unnecessary trips to the shop, so start by freezing what you can first.
- Start composting some of your food waste, particularly leafy greens, by either using a composting bin or burying your food scraps in the earth.
- Consider food sharing groups or apps that will allow you to share items that would otherwise be going to waste. Apps like Olio are free and simple to use.
All in all, we think scrapping best before dates where possible is a great way to begin tackling food waste combined with some of the other tips we’ve mentioned above.
We’d also like to hear your thoughts, so let us know in the comments!
