By
Bernice Hurst, Contributing Editor, RetailWire
It looks as if many consumers are making their money go further by making their food go further -- further from their best-before dates, that is. Stories in The Guardian and The Independent explored the ways in which websites are selling food at prices well below supermarkets on the basis that it has gone beyond its peak of perfection while still remaining perfectly edible.
It is now widely recognized that best-before and sell-by dates are primarily for retailers' information. Only use-by reflects safety. Even official government advice confirms that food beyond its best-before date will be safe to eat when stored correctly, although anything beyond its use-by date should not be eaten.
Business is so good for bargain websites that approvedfood.co.uk says its year on year sales for the last week of December increased by 500 percent. Approvedfood and foodbargains.co.uk have posted apologies because high demand is causing backlogs and extended delivery times.
Both sites offer "clearance, short-dated and out-of-date food and drink" as a way to cut costs and reduce waste. The Guardian points to campaigners' approval of the trend on the basis that "it can help to reduce Britain's huge mountain of food waste."
According to The Independent, government figures show that 370,000 tonnes of food is thrown away each year in the UK after passing its "best-before" date, as well as 220,000 tonnes that is close to, but still within, its "use by" date.
Products range from canned foods such as tuna to packs of soup, toilet paper and pet food with brand names such as Heinz, McVities, Baxters, Nescafe and Cadbury.
While chocolate bars, chips and fizzy drinks proliferate, Approvedfood also has a healthy eating range comprising of crispbread, sushi nori roasted seaweed, canned celeria strips and cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil amongst other less run of the mill items.
Approvedfood's founder, Dan Cluderay, assures customers that "We never sell anything past its 'use-by' date ... but the 'best-before' date simply refers to the product's optimum quality. Products past this date are still perfectly fine to consume and it's very unusual for anyone to be able to tell the difference." He also claims that customers saved an average of 75 percent on recommended retail prices.
