The European Commission is set to propose a bill next month that would remove “best before” labels on coffee, rice, dry pasta, hard cheeses, jams and pickles. The proposal, backed by the governments of Austria, Denmark, Germany, Luxemburg, Sweden and the Netherlands, is designed to reduce the estimated 90m tonnes of edible food that is thrown away throughout Europe each year.
Under the plan, manufacturers would no longer have to put a best before date on foods that people keep in their cupboards for a long time such as rice and pasta.
Dutch Minister for Agriculture Sharon Dijksma and her Swedish counterpart Eskil Erlandsson trigged the proposals to combat food waste. In a statement, Dijksma said: “It would be great if products such as coffee, pasta and rice would remain in European kitchen cupboards until they are consumed, and don’t end up unused in the bin for no good reason.
“It is a breakthrough that many countries have reached a decision about addressing food waste. Consumers are confused about the best before dates and that leads to many kilos of non-consumed food needlessly being thrown out. Addressing food shortages will increasingly become a huge challenge due to the growing world population. It is therefore important to take action now.”
She noted that around 15% of food waste is caused by the best before dates on packaging.
Current EU legislation requires all food to carry a best-before date, whether the products have a long shelf-life or not. The European Commission has set up a working group to discuss food waste at EU level and is set to release legislative proposals in June, according to media reports.
Long-life foods, such Parmesan cheese, rice or coffee, might change colour, lose texture or have deterioration in flavour but remain edible and safe unless obviously otherwise, officials say. “People aren’t stupid and smarter labelling can advise consumers to better understand when stable foods need to be thrown away, or not,” said a diplomat.
The letter to the agriculture council, backed by the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg, said: “Consumers often throw food away unnecessarily because of confusion about the meaning of the ‘best before’ date. Products usually remain edible beyond this date, but are nonetheless thrown away.”
