Yahoo Finance Co-op sells food past 'best before' date for 10p to cut down on waste
East of England Co-op is to start selling food beyond its ‘best before’ date – the first major retailer to make such a move.
It will offer tins, pasta, rice and crisps, and other dried foodstuffs, for just 10p once they have gone past the date in an effort to cut down on waste.
The move will cover all 125 stores across the East Anglia region. East of England Co-op is independent of the nationwide Co-operative Group.
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The “Don’t be a Binner, have it for dinner” campaign follows a successful three-month trial in 14 stores.
It will not cover perishable goods which have a ‘use by’ label.
According to the Food Standards Agency, the UK throws away 7.3 million tonnes of food every year.
Best before dates are about quality – not safety – and food is safe to eat after this date but may be past its prime, says the Agency.
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Roger Grosvenor, joint chief executive of East of England Co-op, told trade magazine The Grocer: “This is not a money-making exercise, but a sensible move to reduce food waste and keep edible food in the food chain.
“By selling perfectly edible food we can save 50,000 plus items every year that would otherwise have gone to waste.
“The vast majority of customers understand they are fine to eat.”
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In a separate move, budget supermarket Aldi says it will give away tons of leftover food from each of its stores over Christmas.
It wants charities and other local organisations to get in touch as it tries to shift up to 30 crates from each of its stores from 4pm on Christmas Eve.
