Know your labels!
Make the most of your food
In the UK, around 6.5 million tonnes of food is wasted every year, and a large proportion of that could still be eaten. Over 4.5 million tonnes is perfectly good food that ends up in the bin.
Most people aren’t wasting food on purpose. It’s usually down to uncertainty. Food labels can be confusing, dates aren’t always clear, and it’s not always obvious what’s still safe to eat and what isn’t.
Getting to grips with what those labels actually mean can help food last longer, save a bit of money, and reduce waste at the same time.
A bit more confidence around labels can go a long way in helping you get the most out of your food, week to week.
And if something can be eaten, shared or saved for later, it’s always worth doing.
So, here are some simple tips to help make sense of food packaging and get the most out of what you’ve got.
Use By vs Best Before — what’s the difference?
Use By
This is about safety.
You’ll usually find it on things like meat, fish and dairy.
Eat it by this date
You can freeze it up to the Use By date
Don’t eat it after this date, even if it looks or smells fine
Best Before
This is about quality, not safety.
Food is often still fine to eat after this date, it just might not be at its best.
Trust your judgement — look, smell, taste
Many cupboard items last well beyond this date
As a rough guide:
Crisps: around a month
Biscuits and cereals: a few months
Tins, sauces and sweets: often up to a year
Dried pasta: sometimes much longer
A few simple habits that help
Use your freezer – great for stretching food further
Store things properly – it really does make a difference
Plan – knowing what you’ve got helps avoid waste
Share what you won’t use – friends, family, neighbours
