Alimenti Food Sciences aim to educate consumers on food waste
Food safety company, Alimenti Food Sciences, urge consumers to be aware of the difference between Best Before and Use By dates on food.
In light of recent data which reported that total household food waste is now at 7.1 million tonnes, more and more businesses and households are looking to reduce their food waste. It is important, however, that this endeavour to waste less food does not come at a compromise to the health and wellbeing of consumers.
Alimenti Food Sciences wish to educate consumers and businesses on food safety, particularly how Best Before and Use By dates should be understood. Their message is simple, Best Before dates are about quality, whereas a Use By date relates to safety.
Foods that have exceeded their Use By date could be supporting the growth of pathogens, making them dangerous to consume. Foods that are most commonly affected by this include prepared vegetables, fresh meat and dairy, products that aren't subject to preservation techniques. Best Before dates can be viewed more as a recommended eating time, and consuming such products beyond the Best Before date is unlikely to cause food poisoning, though their quality may be altered. If a product has exceeded its Best Before date, it can still be consumed and does not need to be wasted.
A spokesperson for Alimenti Food Sciences said: "At Alimenti Food Sciences, we have worked for years in food safety management and hope to spread the correct information about food safety dates across the UK. By properly understanding Use By and Best Before dates, households and businesses will hopefully be able to reduce waste whilst serving food safely!"
For a more in-depth look into Use By and Best Before dates, Alimenti Food Sciences have released a comprehensive blog post which can be read here - https://alimenti.co.uk/when-should-i-throw-food-away/.
The endeavour by Alimenti Food Sciences will hopefully dispel some common myths consumers believe about their food consumption. For example, retailers aim to keep their food consumable for as long as possible and do not create false Use By dates to encourage sales.
Visit Alimenti Food Sciences for more information on food safety management.
ENDS