A new study from RMIT University has found many people are
wasting food because of unclear date labels and storage advice.
Use-by dates show the last day a product is safe to eat,
while best-before dates show peak quality. Food should be safe past a
best-before date if it is not damaged, deteriorated or perished. Even though
many of the consumers interviewed, understood the difference between the two
dates, they often discarded food when it reached either date.
Lead author Associate Professor Lukas Parker said date
labels were widely misused by people because they were confusing.
“Consumers want clear, consistent and easy-to-read
information,” he said.
“Date labels should be in a large font with contrasting
colours so that they are easy to find and interpret.”
Parker said a solution could be labels with practical tips
on properly storing food and sealing packaging, as the study found advice such
as ‘store in a cool, dry place’ was interpreted as vague and unhelpful.
“Including specific temperature guidelines for storage on
packaging would help,” he said. “Particularly in a cost-of-living crisis,
people need information on how to properly store and prolong the shelf life of
food.”
