Marks & Spencer has removed ‘use by’ dates across its RSPCA Assured Select Farms British and organic fresh milk SKUs as part of its commitment to halving food waste by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2040.
The change, which is being rolled out across all M&S UK stores from this week, will see ‘use by’ dates on fresh milk replaced with ‘Best Before’ dates.
The British retailer said the combination of improved shelf life and overall quality of milk in recent years has enabled M&S to make the change to ‘Best Before’ dates, which means customers can use their judgement before throwing away milk which may be 'too good to waste.'
M&S is the first retailer to offer ‘Best Before’ labelling on fully recyclable milk bottles, following the removal of coloured plastic caps on milk earlier this year.
Food Waste Reduction
M&S is targeting a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030, with 100% of edible surplus to be redistributed by 2025 as part of its roadmap to net zero.
"It’s never a job done but over the past year our colleagues have done a fantastic job – from being first to market on higher welfare chicken to removing 75-million units of plastic packaging," said Victoria McKenzie-Gould, director of corporate affairs at M&S.
"We know tackling food waste is a priority for our customers and we’re confident that these small changes to the packaging of our RSPCA Assured fresh milk, will make a big difference – as seen when we led the way in the removal of best before dates on our fruit and vegetables."
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