[link to www.bbc.co.uk]


EU wants clearer food labelling

Sell-by dates should be removed from food packaging to help cut waste and save shoppers money, ministers say.

The UK throws away about £12bn of edible food each year and critics say confusing packaging is partly to blame.

New government advice says firms should include only use-by or best-before dates and remove sell-by and display-until labels relating to stock control.

The British Retail Consortium said a better approach would be to educate people on what the dates mean.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says five million tonnes of edible food is discarded by UK households annually - the equivalent of £680 for a household with children.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said confusion over food labelling was responsible for an estimated £750m of the £12bn edible-food wastage each year.

'Not relevant'

"We want to end the food labelling confusion and make it clear once and for all when food is good and safe to eat," she said.

She wants confusing stock rotation information - such as sell-by dates - removed from packaging altogether.

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