Morrisons scrap 'use by' dates from milk and tell customers to use 'sniff test' instead

10 January 2022, 11:04

By Alice Dear

@According2Al

Morrisons are set to get rid of the 'use by' date on 90 per cent of their milk products in a bid to help tackle food waste.

Morrisons have announced plans to scrap the 'use by' date from their milk, and instead will leave it to their customers to determine when products have gone 'off'.

The supermarket chain are attempting to tackle food waste issues with the change, which will come into effect at the end of January 2022.

From then, 90 per cent of Morrisons own-brand milk products will no longer have a 'use by' date, but will keep the 'best before' date on the packaging.

This comes after Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found that 85 million pints of milk are poured away due to customers following the 'use by' date on the cartons.

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Morrisons are instead encouraging customers to use the common sense and 'sniff test' in order to determine whether milk is safe to consume.

And while some may not see this as a full-proof strategy, the Foods Standard Agency is now backing the 'sniff test'.

It has also been found through research that pasteurised milk can be used for day following the 'use by' date.

Ian Goode, senior milk buyer at Morrisons, said on the store changes: "Wasted milk means wasted effort by our farmers and unnecessary carbon being released into the atmosphere.

"Good quality well-kept milk has a good few days life after normal ‘use by’ dates – and we think it should be consumed, not tipped down the sink.

"So, we’re taking a bold step today and asking customers to decide whether their milk is still good to drink.

"Generations before us have always used the sniff test – and I believe we can too.’

Marcus Gover, of the charity WRAP, is ecstatic about the changes, saying: "I am delighted that Morrisons is the first UK supermarket to take this important step to help reduce household food waste – it shows real leadership and we look forward to more retailers reviewing date labels on their products and taking action."