Thread: 'Ignore best before labels', says minister

It's all coming your way America... you allowed a Banana Republic to take over the country ... your getting one

'Ignore best before labels', says minister

Hilary Benn, the environment minister, said people should ignore "best before" labels and decide for themselves if food is still good to eat.

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent
Published: 7:00AM BST 10 Aug 2009


Hilary Benn Photo: JANE MINGAY

Mr Benn called for a more sensible approach to food safety as part of a wider drive to cut waste and make Britain less dependent on imported food.

The minister will today [mon] set out plans to make Britain more self-sufficient in food, encouraging consumers to eat seasonally-grown British vegetables instead of out-of-season imports. Households will also be urged to grow their own vegetables at home.

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The United Nations says the world population is set to reach 9 billion by 2050, requiring a 70 per cent rise in global food production to avert major shortages.

With global food resources facing ever higher demand, and scientists predicting that climate change could trigger major crises, the Government has devised this new food strategy.

Britain currently produces around 61 per cent of the food it consumes, and Mr Benn said that the proportion must rise. "We need to produce as much food as we can ourselves," he said in a BBC interview.

He also said that British households need to reduce the amount of food they throw away.

The Government estimates that 6.7 million tonnes of food worth £10 billion is thrown away every year.

Its Waste and Resources Action Programme says much of that food could be eaten safely, but is thrown out because of "best before" dates.

Some food producers label food with two dates. The first, a "best before" or "sell by" date explains when it should be consumed to optimise taste. The second, a "use by" date, refers to when the food ceases to be safe to eat.

Mr Benn yesterday said that "use by" dates are an important safety measure, but suggested that "best before" dates served little useful purpose and could be ignored.

He said: "There's 'use by' and that's very important because that's food safety; but when it comes to 'sell by' or 'best before', I think we as consumers [need to] understand better what those labels mean.

"In the past, long before any such labels existed, people would look at the food in the fridge or in the larder and decide whether it was okay to eat."

He added: "Throwing that food away - well obviously it costs us money in our pockets and that's not very sensible, and if it goes to landfill then it produces methane and that adds to the problem of climate change."

Ministers are in talks with supermarkets about "best before" dates, Mr Benn said.

Despite seeking to cut Britain's use of imported food, Mr Benn said he would not try to stop shops selling imported foods such as strawberries imported from Spain and Africa.

Instead, he said he hoped consumers would chose to buy seasonal British produce. "It's about people eating more food seasonally," he added.

He also criticised the big supermarkets for offering only standardised fruit and vegetables, rejecting those that are oddly shaped or unusually coloured.

"You go into the supermarkets and you see the same apples and the same size. Celebrating variety - that's something we should be keen to do," Mr Benn said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink ... ister.html

This minister makes a lot of sense. I always figured the best before date meant that the product had to be pulled from the market shelves.