British supermarket Morrisons declares the end of use-by-dates on milk cartons

One of the largest supermarkets in Britain will ditch use-by dates on its generic milk line. Should Aussie supermarkets do the same? VOTE HERE.

One of the largest supermarkets in Great Britain is set to ditch use-by dates on its generic milk line — leading its main rivals.

Morrisons, which is the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain after Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda, made the announcement this week.

Bottles sold by the retailer will still carry a best before date that will give an indication of when the milk will have the taste at an optimum level.

The move by the chain comes after pressure from environmental groups which claim the UK wastes 330,000 tonnes of milk each year.

Morrison Supermarkets senior milk buyer Ian Goode said consumers were often aware of the freshness of their dairy produce before checking use-by labelling.

“Wasted milk means wasted effort by our farmers and unnecessary carbon being released into the atmosphere,” he said.

“Generations before us have always used the sniff test — and I believe we can too.”

British food waste charity Wrap has found standard milk bottles are the third most wasted product in the UK after bread and potatoes.