Lidl is set to axe ‘use by’ labels on its key dairy lines in favour of ‘best before’ labels.

Updated milk packaging with use by labels, which the supermarket said would help entirely edible food from being thrown away, have already begun entering stores across England and Wales, while changes to Lidl’s yoghurt packaging will begin in early 2024.

“At Lidl, we know that a lot of perfectly good milk and yoghurt is being thrown away because of ‘Use By’ dates,” said Richard Inglis, head of buying at Lidl GB. “It therefore makes total sense to us to make the switch to ‘Best Before’ so that shoppers can use their own judgement on whether their milk or yoghurt is good to consume.”

The move aligns with existing action taken by Lidl to tackle food waste including its initiatives to tackle waste in stores with its Too Good to Waste food boxes – an initiative it says reduces food waste by up to 17,000 tonnes per year by selling 5kg of surplus fruit and vegetables for only £1.50.

Lidl’s labelling change follows Sainsbury’s move to do the same.

“Around a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted,” said Ruth Cranston, director of corporate responsibility & sustainability at Sainsbury’s at the time.

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