All food must be labeled with a best-before date, but it is not always so easy to find.
It can be perceived as hidden, difficult to see among other text – and on many food items the font size is small.
Professor Frode Steen at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) is calling for better and clearer date marking on food products.
– Clear marking of the best-before date, I think, would have been positive for food waste in Norway, says the professor.
Food waste must be halved
In 2021, Norwegian households threw away 216,000 tonnes of food, according to figures from Matvett and the Norwegian Institute for Sustainability Research (NORSUS).
FOOD WASTE: The aim is to halve food waste by 2030. Photo: Torstein Wold / TV 2
Recently, it became known that the government is setting up a separate committee to come up with proposals on how to reduce food waste in Norway.
The goal is to halve food waste by 2030.
– Win-win
Steen’s impression is that people are concerned with dates, and believe that food producers should take advantage of it.
– I think people who are going to buy sour cream to be used on the same day, take the box of sour cream with the closest date because it is to be used on the same day, he says.
If consumers become more aware of dates, you can save more food that ends up in the bin, the professor believes.
– A clearer date is also useful for those who are considering whether to buy two sour cream boxes, but are away the following week and need a box that has a long shelf life, instead of just taking one with them with a low shelf life, says Steen.
REACTS: The date markings should have been clearer, believes NHH professor Frode Steen. Photo: Marit Hommedal / NTB
The professor says that he himself has been annoyed by the small text size and spent time standing around looking for the date.
– When I stand there and get annoyed, I think: Why is the text so small? I think; the more visible, the better, he says.
– It is probably a win-win that the date markings become clearer. Then we don’t have to throw away so much food, and the shops and producers will also benefit from this, says the professor.
– Should use the packaging
Mette Nygård Havre in “Eat the food” has the opposite impression of Steen.
She believes that there are still many people who reach to the far back of the shelves to take the item with the longest shelf life, even if the item is to be used the same day.
Havre believes that higher food prices have made more people realize that you use your senses, even if a product has expired.
MEASURE: “Best before, often good after” is a food waste measure. Photo: Torstein Wold / TV 2
Havre agrees with Steen that the food manufacturers could have advantageously had a longer date on the food products, but also used the packaging better to encourage consumers to make good choices.
– The packaging should also be used to explain that the product can be eaten even after it has expired, says Havre.
There are two ways to mark the expiry date. One is the “use by” date, which meat often expires. You also have “best before”, which most foodstuffs fall under.
A few years ago, many manufacturers changed the date labeling from “best before” to “best before, often good after” as a food waste measure. Other producers also encourage “look, smell, taste”.
Q-dairies and Toro are two producers who, among other things, encourage people to use their senses and to use the leftovers they have, respectively.
DATE FEAR: Mette Nygård Havre thinks people have a fear of dates due to bad food experiences. Photo: Eat the food
Date scare
In Norway, we throw away about eight carrier bags of food a year per Norwegian.
According to the report by Matvett and Norsus, Norwegians state that most of the food they throw away is because of the date.
– What do you think is the reason why people have fear of dates?
– My impression is that it is often linked to bad food experiences and that they are afraid of getting sick. In Norway, food safety is so good that you won’t get sick from drinking milk that has passed its date, unless it’s something very special, says Havre.
She encourages people to choose foods that have the closest date, whether they are to be used on the same day or in the next few days. It can save the store from waste, she says.
Clearer date markings are a win-win, both for consumers, the shops and the manufacturers. Photo: Torstein Wold / TV 2
– Can always be better
The Q dairies are among the producers who have increased the font size of the shelf life date after collaborating with the Association of the Blind a few years ago.
They also introduced the “best before, but not bad after” text.
When asked if Q-meieriene owner Kavli thinks they have a clear enough expiry date on other products, they reply:
NOT BAD AFTER: The Q dairies state that the milk is not bad after the best before date. Photo: Private
– We can always get better. The tube cheeses have a slightly small date, since it is printed at the top of the tube, in the weld. Fortunately, this is a long-lasting product with a shelf life of 12-18 months, so people are not very concerned about the date on these products, when they stand in the store and have to choose, writes press contact Kristine Aasheim in Kavli in an email to TV 2.
Owner of Synnøve Finden, Scandza, says the size of the date marking and the font used is determined by the equipment and the size of the product.
– In general about our products, I can say that the size of the date marking is larger than other text on the product. We are working to ensure that it is legible and that it is printed somewhere it can be read, says Sofie Oraug-Rygh, Director of Communications and Government Relations at TV 2.
– Are there conscious strategies behind small date marking?
– It is a definite strategy to have clear markings. It is available equipment, available surfaces on which it is possible to write and available space that determine the size, says Oraug-Rygh.
– We take an active responsibility
Head of sustainability in Tine, Bjørn Malm, says that they take active responsibility for reducing their own food waste, and have reduced food waste by 37 per cent since 2015.
Malm states that they also make it possible for consumers to reduce their own food waste.
– One that the biggest reasons for food waste at home for most people is that the product has “expired” its date. That is why we have worked systematically with a number of measures, at all stages of our entire value chain, and managed to increase the shelf life of milk by up to eight days, says Malm.
He also reminds us that “best before” does not mean that the food is bad afterwards. A good rule of thumb is to see, smell and taste to see if the product is still being used.
Tine is also introducing measures to increase the size of the date marking.
– We know that clear labeling is important, and small print of the expiry date can lead to unwanted food waste. We have therefore increased the size of the date marking for Tine milk, so that it will be easier to read which date is “best before, often good after”. Going forward, we will also take a closer look at the font size of several products, including sour cream, says Malm.
