Recently I have read about a European campaign whereby the ‘Best Before’ dates of foods are being more critically evaluated, seen to having been a ploy by manufacturers to get more of their products sold.  Now the European Union is getting involved in standardising ‘Best Before’ dates for food types, to reduce the 89 million tons of food thrown away in Europe annually, of which at least 10% is still edible. A third of all food produced in Europe is thrown away.

Most food products have two dates, the one being the sell-by date, being the date which the manufacturer feels is the ideal to give the product perfect consistency, taste, and nutritional value; and the other being the ‘Best Before’ date until when it is safe to eat the product.   The longer the time period between date of manufacture and sell-by date, the longer the product is edible after the ‘Best Before’ date.

The European Union has decreed that pasta, rice,coffee, jams, pickles, and hard Continue reading →