Lidl scraps “Use By” dates on all own brand milk and yoghurts

In a bid to tackle food waste in the UK, Lidl GB has announced that it is scrapping the use of “Use By” dates on all if its own brand milk and yoghurts.

According to the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), more than half a million tonnes of dairy products are wasted every year. In fact, WRAP noted that the “majority” of the wasted dairy products are thrown away in our homes.

From this month, consumers will be able to spot the changes on Lidl’s own brand milk packaging across England and Wales, however to move will be implements on yoghurts in early 2024

Lidl GB has said that this move is part of its plans to curb food waste by encouraging customers to use their judgement on whether products are still good to eat. Instead of  ‘Use By’, ‘Best Before’ dates will be printed on the labels of the dairy products.

Advising shoppers, Lidl has shared: “Milk and yoghurt that’s been stored correctly and doesn’t smell bad or appear lumpy is safe to enjoy”.

Commenting on the decision, Richard Inglis, Head of Buying at Lidl GB, said: “At Lidl, we know that a lot of perfectly good milk and yoghurt is being thrown away because of ‘Use By’ dates.

“It therefore makes total sense to us to make the switch to ‘Best Before’ so that shoppers can use their own judgement on whether their milk or yoghurt is good to consume.”

Inglis went on to state that Lidl GB has a “long record of making positive change to reduce food waste”, with this move being “latest step” that builds on its “commitment to helping households tackle food waste at home”.