Food: Waste

Lord Naseby Excerpts

Monday 12th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

The noble Lord is very topical. Some results are to be released shortly on research into exactly the impact of BOGOF—as it is called in the trade—on expenditure patterns and food waste. The noble Lord will have to await the outcome of that research before I can give him an answer.

[Lord Naseby]

My Lords, surely we owe a vote of thanks to retailers for the way they have taken up what the Minister calls WRAP. A 3 per cent achievement in a single year is to be greatly welcomed. Would my noble friend comment on one area where there is still confusion? The “best before” date is still confused by the “use by” date. Is there any programme for further publicity to clarify what each of those two phrases means?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

This is an ongoing project, and an important one. As my noble friend quite rightly points out, there is confusion. Defra recently published date-marking guidance. This should help to ensure that dates are applied consistently—for example, that all hard cheeses display “best before” dates—thus making it easier for consumers to understand their meaning. I have already seen date marks that drop the confusing “display until”, in line with our guidance. I will shortly be visiting Sainbury’s to see its new eco-labelling system. My noble friend is quite right to congratulate supermarkets on the efforts that they are making.