The startup Too Good To Go has presented the label ‘Look, Smell, Taste’, caused by the confusion that exists about the preferred consumption date among consumers. This initiative has already reached the shelves of supermarkets and pantries in Spanish homes and adds new allied brands to the initiative.
The new label is only incorporated into the packaging of products with a best before date to remind consumers that once this date has expired, the product may remain perfectly valid and that you have to use your senses (see, smell and taste) to know if it is still fit for consumption before throwing it away. “In this way we want to help consumers to correctly interpret the best before date and empower them to avoid wasting thousands of tons of food that could still be in perfect condition to consume once that best before date has expired.”, Says Madalena Rugeroni, director of Too Good To Go in Spain and Portugal.
Big brands like Danone, YoSoy, Almendrola, Central Lechera Asturiana, La Vaca Que Laughter, Babybel, RobinGood, Hellmann’s, Who’s the boss, Intermón OXFAM, Väcka, Alpro, among others, they have begun to incorporate this new label in many of their products that are already available in supermarkets.
Likewise, Too Good To Go continues to add allies to its initiative with the recent incorporation of 10 new brands such as Kaiku, Kaiku Lactose Free, Kaiku Begetal, Kaiku km0, Veggie Maai, Hericamps, Quesería La Antigua, Brebel, Bico de Xeado and Alimentos Sanygran, which have already begun to work to progressively add this new distinctive in their products with best before date in the coming months.
“In total, there are already 32 brands linked to this initiative and by the end of 2021 the distinctive will have already been printed on more than 100 million packages of the different products of the brands “Rugeroni says. And add that “We must not forget that it is in homes where the most food is wasted. With this initiative and the collaboration of the brands that are incorporating the ‘Look, Smell, Taste’ label to their products, we are taking the message directly to millions of consumers, giving value to food and helping to face up to food waste ”.
Millions of tons of food wasted by date labeling
According to data from the European Commission, the date labeling of food is responsible for each year being wasted around 9 million tons of food in Europe alone and a good part of this is due to the fact that about half of the consumers do not know how to correctly interpret the consumption dates present in the products. This is an important issue to such an extent that the Bill for the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste, recently presented by the Government, proposes measures to address this problem.
According to the AESAN, the preferred consumption date indicates the moment until which the product conserves the expected organoleptic quality. This means that once this date has passed, the product may vary slightly in texture or flavor, but its consumption is still safe if the conservation recommendations have been followed and it also has a good appearance, smell and taste.
However, according to a study carried out by Too Good To Go2, 39% of Spaniards do not know how to correctly interpret the meaning of the preferred consumption date. What’s more, 21% think that it means the same as expiration date and 26% mistakenly believe that a product with an expired best-before date should not be consumed. Likewise, 65% of those surveyed considers that the current system of date labeling It is not clear and that better information would help them make better consumption decisions to avoid waste. “For this reason, from Too Good To Go we appeal to all brands in the food industry, encouraging them to be an active part of the solution, incorporating the ‘Look, Smell, Taste’ label in their products with a preferred consumption date in order to to guide the consumer and together win this fight against food waste ”.
