Survey Says Majority Of Canadians Against Getting Rid Of ‘Best Before’ Dates On Food Packaging

Are you one of those people who gets rid of food as soon as that date on the container passes? If so, you’re on the side of the majority, but the real question is; is it the right side?

The majority of Canadians are against eliminating “best before” dates on food packaging in a push to reduce food waste, according to a joint report from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and the Angus Reid Institute, released yesterday.

The report said that when it comes to getting rid of “best before” dates people were;

• 32% strongly opposed
• 30% opposed
• 11% don’t know or don’t care
• 18% support
• 9% strongly support

That means 62% want to keep them, and only 27% want to get rid of them.

But this is a weird situation because 25% of people use the best before date to determine if something is expired; which is absolutely NOT what its about. “best before” dates in Canada are about quality, not safety. It quite literally means that the food was best, or in its finest form, before the said date. After that date means that it’s beginning its slow decline in quality. They are very different from expiration dates which are a best guess about when that product will expire.

Some of the metrics people use to determine if food is spoiled include:

• 28% look for the presence of mold
• 25% go by the “best before” dates
• 20% rely on smell
• 17% rely on the look of the food product
• 9% go by the “packaged on” date
• 2% taste test the product

This is a part of the food waste problem in Canada, but perhaps not as bad as it could be. 78% of people admit they have consumed a product after it has gone past it’s best before date. While it’s certain that “best before” dates do have an influence on people in Canada when it comes to their food and when it’s time to get rid of it, there’s no clear way to tackle this portion of the food waste problem. Perhaps it could be accomplished by ditching the “best before” and moving to more expiration dates.

According to the Global Food Security Index, Canada is the 7th most food secure country in the world. But when it comes to food safety, Canada is 1st in the world. The focus on food safety in Canada has been historically higher in comparison to other countries.

Source: https://bit.ly/3QVfcg0