There are fresh calls to “shake up” Australia’s food labelling system to end confusion over “best-before” and “use-by” dates placed on groceries, but the food safety regulator has no plan to do so. About one-third of all food is binned before its time, a new report has found, costing families thousands of dollars amid cost-of-living pressures. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Use-by date confusion costing Aussie families thousands of dollars.
Uncertainty about expiration labels marked on products in fridges and pantries across the country is one of the key drivers of the problem, according to the research. Use-by dates signal the last day a product is safe to eat while a “best-before” highlights peak quality and food should be safe past this point if not damaged or perished. The report’s lead author, RMIT University associate professor Lukas Parker, said baffled families want “clear, consistent and easy-to-read information”.
“Date labels should be in a large font with contrasting colours so that they are easy to find and interpret,” he said. Parker suggested vague “store in a cool, dry place” advice be replaced with “specific temperature guidelines for storage”. “Particularly in a cost-of-living crisis, people need information on how to properly store and prolong the shelf life of food,” he said.
There has been plenty of research into Australia’s food waste dilemma. ANZ’s August Food for Thought report found that Australian households alone d.
