One extra day of shelf life equals 250,000 tonnes of food waste prevented

Increasing the shelf life of certain foods by just one extra day could prevent around 250,000 tonnes of food going to waste each year, according to British sustainability organisation WRAP.

The theory is outlined in a report: Reducing food waste by extending product life. In writing the report, WRAP assessed the amount of product life available to consumers on-shelf and reviewed how product life codes such as ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates are currently set by retailers, brands and food manufacturers.

From this assessment, WRAP has identified opportunities to make simple and safe changes throughout the supply chain that will pass on more product life to consumers.

“The findings in our report are a real opportunity for industry. By implementing these simple recommendations, food manufacturers and retailers can make a big difference in the battle against food waste, without even having to change products and packaging. We estimate that shoppers could save upwards of £500m and businesses could save £100m in waste prevention alone,” said Dr Richard Swannell, director of sustainable food systems at WRAP.

“We have a fantastic opportunity to take action here - we’ve identified the business case based on savings in the true cost of waste and the potential for increased sales from better availability. [The] report is part of our continuing work to reduce food waste and we’re keen to work with industry on how best to act on this information.”

The recommendations are:

1. That retailers and manufacturers challenge safety and quality buffers to identify opportunities to extend product life for the consumer.
2. That a standardised approach to ‘open life’ guidance (the time an item is deemed safe to eat or retains its optimum quality after opening) be used and that open life is used only for food safety, not where quality is the limiting factor.
3. That supply chain practices such as stock rotation are reviewed with a view to increasing the available life for consumers.
4. That delivery times to retailers are benchmarked with a view to improving performance.
5. That all ‘display until’ dates be removed from all foods and only ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates be used.

Both the report and the recommendations have been welcomed by the UK Food Standards Agency.