arks & Spencer plans to remove the best before date from more than 300 fruit and vegetable products.
They made the move in an effort to reduce food waste, starting this week.
Best before dates on products are replaced with a new code for M&S staff to check for freshness and quality.
After a successful trial run, dates will be scrapped in all stores and we hope customers will use their judgment to decide whether food is no longer fit to eat.
Fruit and vegetables, including apples and potatoes, make up 85% of M&S’ product range.
They’ve also turned unsold baguettes and boule loaves to make frozen garlic bread.
M&S has pledged to halve food waste by 2030 as part of its sustainability roadmap.
Andrew Clappen, director of food technology at M&S, said: “We are committed to tackling food waste – our teams and suppliers are working hard to deliver fresh, delicious, responsible products at a high price and we must do everything we can to care make sure none of it gets thrown away.
“To do that, we need to be innovative and ambitious – remove ‘best before’ dates where it’s safe to do so, try new ways to sell our products and encourage our customers to be creative with leftovers and embrace change.”
Other retailers have taken similar steps in recent years.
Tescos removed the best before date of more than 100 fruit and vegetable products in 2018.
Morrisons announced plans to scrap the expiration date on 90% of its own branded milk and asked customers to use the “sniff test” in January this year.
Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change at the Waste & Resources Action Program (Wrap), said: “We are delighted to see this move by M&S, which will reduce food waste and help tackle the climate crisis.
“Removing dates on fresh fruits and vegetables could save the equivalent of seven million shopping baskets of food thrown away in our homes.
“We are urging more supermarkets to reduce food waste by removing date labels from fresh produce so people can use their own judgment.”