Morrisons, the 4th largest supermarket, has decided to stop using “use by dates” on their milk and replace these with “best before dates” in what they call an attempt to reduce food waste.
Whist it is admirable to want to try and reduce food waste, this should not be at the risk of physically making you sick. Not everyone is able to sniff test the milk due to medical reasons etc to ensure it hasn’t gone off, as Morrisons suggest.
Also, it is not sensible as in the summer time, we all know that milk goes off more quickly.
It has taken a long time to improve food labelling standards and now it appears Morrisons want to take a retrograde step.
See customers views in the Sun article link below:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/17266967/morrisons-scraps-milk-use-by-dates-sniff-test/
Rather than waste the surplus milk, wouldn’t it have been better to supply it to food banks and food bank kitchens a few days before the “use by date”.
Alternatively, if Morrisons is ordering too much milk, it could reduce the amount it purchases and or supply more milk in the smaller size cartons, i.e. pints or half litres, which large supermarkets don’t often appear to sell. This way the customer could purchase what they really need instead of buying excessive amounts which they could ultimately waste.
This could also help to reduce the carbon footprint.
Whilst Morrisons appear to be concerned about food waste, they don’t appear as concerned about the conditions at their chicken suppliers. Thanks to Chris Packham’s petition at Change.org, he and Open Cages, The Humane League and Animal Equality released a video on YouTube etc recently regarding this. See link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4t74053FqI
Link to Chris Packham’s petition update below:
https://www.change.org/p/supermarkets-stop-selling-suffering/u/30053358?cs_tk=Ar9eRxmNNMlVJLTV5mEAAXicyyvNyQEABF8BvBAMDv9q21wfLgmRn6IdZM0%3D&utm_campaign=82f157d79807406db2eb0fdeb9bdd399&utm_content=initial_v0_5_0&utm_medium=email&utm_source=petition_update&utm_term=cs
Morrisons state on the website link below: “100% of the fresh pork, beef, lamb, poultry and milk we sell in our stores is British and certified by Red Tractor giving customers assurance on food safety, hygiene, animal welfare standards and environmental protection”.
https://www.morrisons-farming.com/backing-british/red-tractor/
The Food Standards Agency [FSA] is planning to introduce more food assurance schemes by third parties such as Red Tractor rather than through totally independent Local Authority and Meat Hygiene Inspections.
Please keep sharing the “Don’t Risk Lives Keep Meat Inspections Independent” Petition, as all food safety is important.
Thank you for your continued help and support and stay safe.