Sainsbury’s is set to change use-by to best-before date labelling on its milk range.

Stating it is the biggest UK retailer to make the change, Sainsbury’s said it had made the decision in a bid to reduce household food waste.

The label transition will affect 44 products in Sainsbury’s range, including all fresh and organic milk sold across England, Scotland, and Wales, and will apply to over 730 million pints of milk the supermarket reportedly sells each year.

According to the Food Standards Agency, use-by dates are linked to food safety, whereas best-before dates relate to food quality, and that food with a use-by date applied should never be consumed past this date (unless frozen on or before that date), whereas foods with a best-before date can be eaten beyond that date.

“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.

“Combatting food waste is one of our top priorities and we are continuously innovating to tackle this issue, all the way from farms and suppliers, right to our customers’ homes.”

Sainsbury’s recently announced that farmers supplying its milk will be paid more due to a new £6 million annual investment by the supermarket.

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