Morrisons to scrap milk 'use by' dates to cut waste

9 January 2022, 14:14 | Updated: 10 January 2022, 08:59

Supermarket giant Morrisons is to scrap use by dates on its milk in a bid to prevent waste.

The retailer will instead encourage customers to use the "sniff test" to tell whether the milk is out of date.

The change will be made from the end of January, with Morrisons ditching use by dates on 90% of its own-brand milk.

It hopes the new policy will prevent millions of pints of milk from being wasted when it is still drinkable.

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Ian Goode, senior milk buyer at Morrisons, said: "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."

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Yesterday, Morrisons tweeted that all dairy alternatives to milk in their "brew bars" come at no extra cost.

Recycling charity Wrap says milk is the third most-wasted food product in the UK, behind potatoes and bread.

It claims around 490 million pints are wasted each year, of which it estimates 85 million are due to customers following "use by" dates.

Marcus Gover, of Wrap, said: "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."