Food producers swamp retailers with "use by" date labels

by Richard Tyler - 05/07/2011

"Fear of prosecution over public health incidents is causing food producers to label more lines with "use by" dates than is required by law."

Fear of criminal prosecution is driving food producers to label so many products with “use by” dates that retailers cannot cope, a report for government regulators has found.

The overly cautious approach is costing retailers £110m in unnecessary checks – costs that are being passed on to the consumer through higher prices.
When they fail to prevent an item that has passed its "use by" date from being sold they face prosecution, with 109 successful cases brought under the labelling legislation over the last three years

The failure to accurately label food also contributes to the £600m of food wasted each year, the report argued.

A typical supermarket carries around 50,000 products with “use by” labels when “best before” labels could be used. The latter do not attract a criminal offence if a product is sold after the date expires.

Trading Standards regulators and industry groups have called for the findings of the study to inform government thinking on “use by” and “display until” labels on products.

The study, written by retailers and food producers, said producers must only label products with “use by” dates when the food is “highly perishable and likely to “after a short period” to be dangerous to eat. The 'use by’ date is intended to highlight foods that pose a greater risk from food borne illnesses.
The report also calls for the abolition of the criminal offence to sell products beyond the “use by” date to be scrapped under British food labelling laws as food safety regulations provide similar protections.

The criminal offence is not required under EU law and as such is an example of “gold plating”, which the Coalition has pledged to tackle.
The report said: “The food producer’s wish to safeguard their reputation for supplying food of high quality are driving the UK food industry to take a highly risk averse approach in this regulatory area.

“This results in large numbers of products with 'use by’ dates, which retailers and the supply chain must check, and an enforcement approach that, for the larger businesses, often focuses on a relatively minor percentage of non-compliance which poses little or no microbiological safety risk.”

Sarah Appleby, head of enforcement at the Food Standards Agency, gave the repot a cautious welcome. She said: “Use by dates are an important way for consumers to ensure that their food is safe to eat. The agency is working ... to identify how we can help consumers understand date markings on food, and remove current confusion about sell by and display until dates. We want to see food waste minimised, but we also need to ensure people do not take unnecessary risks with food safety.”

More Details: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/yourbusiness/8616245/Food-producers-swamp-retailers-with-use-by-date-labels.html