Kaufland has announced that it will add the message 'Oft länger gut' ('Often good for longer'), alongside the best before date on its own brand K-Classic fresh milk, as it seeks to cut food waste.
With this move, Kaufland will be joining the campaign to help reduce food waste initiated by the Danish company ‘Too Good To Go’.
Commenting on the initiative, Lavinia Kochanski, head of sustainability at Kaufland said, “the message ‘Oft länger gut' encourages consumers to use their own senses to assess the shelf life of food”.
“Many foods can be eaten beyond the best before date and are still disposed of. Therefore, each of us should not only look at the best before date, but trust our own senses and ask ourselves whether food still looks, smells and tastes good.”
Food Waste Issue
In Germany, it is estimated that 18 million tonnes of food is thrown away annually. Over 60% of this occurs in private households, largely due to a misunderstanding over the best before date, and whether food is inedible once this date has passed.
Too Good To Go's ‘Oft länger gut’ campaign focused on this problem, according to Kochanski.
“It was a matter of course for us to support this campaign, because the approach fits exactly with our understanding of sustainability at Kaufland. This enables us to sensitise our customers and help them throw away less food," she said.
The retailer will start the campaign with fresh milk from its own K-Classic brand (1.5% and 3.5%), and will aim to have the milk on the shelves of around 240 Kaufland branches in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg by this weekend.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Elizabeth Schroeder. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
