Asda changes yoghurt labelling from use by to best before dates

Asda has announced the removal of use by dates on over half its own brand yoghurts in an attempt to help customers combat food waste.

The date labels on 28 lines of yoghurt packaging will be replaced by best before dates.

It follows research from NGO Wrap which found half of all yoghurt wasted in UK households was in unopened packs, with 70% of all yoghurt wasted due in part to the product “not being used in time”.

“Wasting food feeds climate change and costs us money – with the average family spending £700 a year on good food which ends up in the bin,” said Catherine David, director of collaboration & change at Wrap.

She added the research found appropriate date labelling can help “reduce the amount of good food that is thrown in the bin”.

Asda said its technical manager, microbiologist and product manager conducted robust food safety and quality evaluations to confirm existing recipes in the 28 lines, which sell around 455,000 units a week, to ensure it was safe for those products to change to best before dates.

The products seeing a change in labelling include Asda natural yoghurt, Greek yoghurt and Extra Special Strawberry and Hazelnut.

“We are always looking at ways we can help customers reduce food waste in the home, and with research from Wrap saying 54,000 tonnes of edible yoghurt is thrown away unnecessarily each year, we are hopeful this change will both make a big difference to the environment and save customers money at the same time,” said Paul Gillow, VP fresh & frozen foods at Asda.

The latest change follows Asda’s removal of best before dates on almost 250 of its fresh fruit and vegetable lines late last year, including citrus fruits, potatoes, cauliflowers and carrots.