Woolworths, Coles to keep use-by dates on milk cartons despite UK change

The days of ‘use by’ dates are numbered on UK milk products but Australia’s big retailers look set to stick with the status quo.

Australia’s big three supermarkets will retain ‘use by’ date labelling on their milk cartons, despite moves abroad to switch to a ‘best before’ model.

One of the UK’s biggest supermarkets — Morrisons — this week announced it would ditch ‘use by’ labelling and ask shoppers to apply ‘the sniff test’ to determine whether its generic milk was still fresh.

The move has prompted British rivals Tesco and Sainsburys to also re-examine labelling, although both are yet to declare any changes.

An opinion poll conducted by The Weekly Times of its online readers indicated 58 per cent of respondents wanted to see ‘use by’ labelling ditched, with 42 per cent favouring the status quo.

A Woolworths spokeswoman said the supermarket chain would stick to the ‘use by’ indicator but was open to other ways to reduce food waste.

“We provide ‘use by’ dates across our own brand milk range to ensure food safety for our customers,” the Woolworths spokeswoman said.

“We will continue to consider opportunities such as this to reduce food waste in partnership with our processors, with the needs of our customers in mind.

“We have a range of initiatives in place to reduce waste and extend the shelf life of our milk products, spanning processing, supply chain logistics and partnerships with food rescue organisations.”

A Coles spokeswoman said differences in food labelling laws between Australia and the UK would make any moves to ditch ‘use by’ branding difficult.

A spokesman for Aldi Australia declined to comment.