Morrisons UK to remove ‘use by’ dates on their milk

Morrisons is the first UK supermarket to remove the ‘use by’ dates from their milk in favour of the sniff test. They will instead put ‘best before’ on 90% of their own branded milk, in a bid to reduce food wastage in their stores.

Tags: Morrisons Daily

According to WRAP, one of the globe’s leading sustainability charities, milk is the third most wasted food in the world after potatoes and bread and has the largest carbon foot print of these foods as its production is so resource intensive. WRAP also estimates that a staggering 490 million pints of milk is wasted every year in the UK. Morrisons anticipates that by changing to ‘best before’ dates, it will help stop millions of its own brand milk being thrown away every year. The dates on the milk will stay the same – it’s what they are asking customers to do is changing.

What is the milk sniff test?

Used by dates aren’t always an indicator of milk’s freshness. If you really want to know whether milk is fresh (or safe), just give it a sniff. Your nose will clue you in on whether it is safe enough to drink. To do the sniff test there are two things to take into consideration:

  • Hold the milk carton to your nose – if it smells sour, then it may have spoiled
  • Look at your milk – if you can see it has curdled, then it is not right

How can you make your milk last longer?

There are a few different ways you can do to help keep your milk fresh for longer. By doing this, you’ll be able to stretch your grocery budget and help prevent food wastage in your home:

  • Put your milk in a cool bag when bringing it back from the shop
  • Store it correctly – milk should be kept in the fridge, with a temperature between 1 – 4 degrees Celsius
  • Never drink from the carton
  • Don’t pour unused milk back into the carton
  • Close your milk carton immediately after use
  • Never leave milk sitting out when cooking – always put it back in the fridge after use
  • Cover cartons with cling film and secure with a rubber band. This creates a barrier to prevent bacteria getting in

Locally, there have now been calls for island dairies to follow suit and remove the ‘use by’ dates on its own cartons in favour of ‘best before’ labels. This would be a positive step forward in a bid to help cut down on our own food wastage within our islands.