Cutting waste: UK to make food labelling less stringent

This may come as a bit of a shock to frugal Indians, who generally hate to throw away good food. The British throw away as much as five million tons of edible food a year - which costs each family around £700 (Rs50,000).

The government now blames this at least partly on the plethora of confusing labels that food products sold in the UK must carry – like 'sell by', 'display until', and 'use by' dates. It seems to have now decided that only the 'use by' date is critical; the rest can be left to the discretion of the consumer.

The new government guidelines to shops, which are likely to come into effect by mid-March, put more emphasis on 'use by' dates on items such as prawns and yoghurt, which have a short shelf life.

The initiative follows consultation with manufacturers and retailers, who mainly use labels like 'display until' for stock control. The changes will be brought in over the next month and will not involve new legislation.

The government advisory body 'waste and resources action programme' has suggested that households might be throwing out up to a quarter of their weekly food and drink purchases.

A spokesperson for the department of environment, food and rural affairs said, "By law, pre-packed food must show a 'best before' date - even though many foods are still safe to eat after that date. This is very different from the 'use by' date that shows when food is no longer safe and should be thrown away. Being clear on the difference between the two could help us all to reduce our food waste."