Consumer attitudes to 'best before' dates contribute to food waste, UQAM study finds

Consumers are placing too much importance on the "best before" dates on their food, according to a new study by sustainability researchers at the Universit du Qubec Montral.

The study looking at food wastesurveyed 1,026 Quebec consumers and included interviews with 14 stockroom managers at grocery stores. It was co-authored by UQAM professors RenAudet and lianeBrisebois, who share a research chair on the transition to a more sustainable economy.

Audet said they found that consumers place a high value on the best-before date, even if food is generally perfectly safe to eat after that date.

Respondents said they often reach to the back of a shelf to grab an item with the furthest away best-before dateand throw away items whose best-before dates had pass some, even as that date was approaching.

The majority of respondents said they go grocery shopping once or twice per week, spending between $50 and $150 on groceries weekly.

The authorsclassified respondents into three categories: conciliators (58 per cent), planners (25 per cent), and improvisers (17 per cent).

Planners are the least wastefuland generally know how to revitalize older food.

Improvisers spendmore on food and are more likely to be susceptible to marketing ploys such as buy one, get one free. They are alsothe most wasteful.

The conciliators know that food waste isa problem but lackstrategies to reduce their personal food waste.

The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization estimates about one third of food produced for human consumption goes to waste.

Confusion over meaning of 'best before'

"There's a lot confusion about best-before dates," said Lawrence Goodridge, McGill University'sIan and Jayne Munro Chair in Food Safety, in an interview on CBCMontreal'sDaybreak.

While it may denote when the food is at its tastiest, he said, it is not meant to gauge whethera food item is safe to eat.

"Consumers have to be educated to know what information on food packages mean," he said.

"It has nothing to do with safety."

Goodridgesays it's a mistake to throw away food based simply on the date stamped on its packaging.

What's more important, he said, is properly handling and preparing the food.

He said the "smell test" can also be a better gauge of food spoilage, but cautions against using only that, as bacteria such as salmonella is not detectable by smell.

However, thepresence of such bacteria has nothing to do with an item's time on the shelf, he said.

Legally, stores can sell food that's past its best-before date. But Goodridgesaid few do, to avoid a hit to their reputation.

Stores preemptively taking items off the shelves

Intermarche Boyer stockroom manager Robert Langevin estimated his grocery storethrows awaytwo to three per cent of itsstock because of expired best-before dates.

"[With] yogurt you can pull it almost a week before, even if people know that yogurt is good past the date," said Langevin in an interview onDaybreak.

He said his store, like many others, will reduce the price of food items or even remove them from shelves as the best-before date approaches.

The UQAMstudy also sought to re-evaluate how we see the cost of wasting food beyond the dollars that come out of one'swallet.

"The way we see food should maybe change a little bit," said Audet, adding that most respondents saw the waste as a financial hit rather than a symptom of an unsustainable food system.

Audet notes that it's not just food that's wasted,but the water, agricultural land, raw materials and energy used to produce it and ship it.