Food waste: how long can an expired product be consumed?

In the fight against food waste, an initiative in Great Britain is rekindling all debates about the regulation of best-before dates. A UK supermarket chain has decided to simply remove the sell-by date from some of its products. “This is the Waitrose brand. It will remove best-before date labels from almost 500 products. This concerns only the indicative dates beyond which the consumption of a product remains safe. The goal: to prevent customers from throwing away food that is still edible, thus combating food waste. According to the brand, a general abolition would save seven million baskets of food.”explains journalist Nicolas Bidard, present on the set of 12/13, Friday 5 August.

Finding your way around in France is not always easy, as there are several indications on certain products. “Let’s start with the ‘DDM’ best before date. It says ‘best before’. In this case you can still consume the product even after the date has passed. Only downside, its taste, which can be altered. Then there’s that Expiration date called ‘DLC’. It says ‘use by’ followed by a day and a month. After this date, consuming a product may become hazardous to your health.”says Nicolas Bidard.

Can we pass this famous expiration date? “It all depends on the type of product. For example, you can eat yoghurts about a week after the expiry date. But they must be stored in good conditions. When it comes to meat, fish or eggs, on the other hand, we don’t take any risks.”concludes Nicolas Bidard.