Approved Food Support European Commission Call To Action Following Eurobarometer Survey
A European Commission report exposing a ‘fundamental lack of understanding’ amongst consumers across Europe about dates on food labels has today been welcomed by entrepreneur and best-before-date awareness campaigner Dan Cluderay as a ‘step in the right direction’.
The results of a survey, which formed the basis for discussions at a high level, international conference titled ‘Fight Food Waste, Feed The Planet’ earlier this week in Milan revealed that less than half of the population understand the meaning of ‘best before’, with a staggering 60% unclear on the meaning of ‘use by’.
Dan Cluderay, who founded leading online-only discount grocer Approved Food, a unique outlet which provides a route to market for excess stock, and goods nearing or past their best-before-date, that could otherwise end up in landfill, said the statistics must now catalyst ‘educational, environmental and economic action’.
The conference follows a commitment from The European Union to tackle resource efficiency and waste management as key elements of EU environmental policy and the Europe 2020 strategy, with the study reported to have confirmed the need to pursue educational initiatives and targeted information on date marking.
Dan Cluderay, who has spoken on the issue of food waste and lobbied for better best-before-date awareness in the UK over the past decade on platforms including partnerships with The Real Junk Food Project, Food Aware and talks in schools, said: “Earlier this year a report was issued by the UN which revealed that if we cut food waste by just a quarter we could comfortably tackle poverty.
“In a time of great austerity when so many people are struggling to make ends meet we must pay attention to such a staggering statistic and ask ourselves, ‘how can I make a difference?’”
Speaking ahead of the conference EU Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, responsible for Health and Food Safety, said that whilst ‘pleased’ to see that many Europeans recognise their role in food waste reduction, the figure could rise to over 120 million tonnes by 2020 ‘if we do nothing’.
Dan, who established Approved Food in 2008 – which has gone on to ‘rehome’ 32 million items otherwise destined for landfill through its work with suppliers, manufacturers, supermarkets and distributors – said the call to action now needed ‘something tangible’ to get the education process started.
He said: “It’s not great that the findings of the survey showed such a fundamental lack of understanding about the difference between best-before-dates and use-by-dates amongst such a significant number of the population, but what it does do is give us insight into what needs to be done.
“Ultimately, we need to step it up a gear when it comes to educating people on the difference between the two; making sure people have all the facts to make a solid, sensible decision about what they are prepared to eat – helping to reduce the amount of food destined for landfill that is perfectly safe to consume.
“We sell food and drink that is nearing or past its best before date – which is a labelling for optimum quality, not a safety measure.
“Over 7 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK alone every single year. Through targeted education, leading to greater awareness, we have the ability to bring this right down – contributing positively to the economy and the environment.”
