Fighting food waste with your eyes, nose and tongue

Two-thirds of the food thrown away in Switzerland could have been eaten. A new label on foodstuffs wants consumers to be much more discerning when deciding what ends up in the bin. It seems that “use by” and “best before” – two legally-required date labels – sometimes get mixed up in consumers’ minds. While “use by” means an item would likely be spoiled after that date, “best before” means exactly that: the item will taste its best if you eat it beforehand. But many people throw away food as soon as it passes this date – without evaluating whether it’s still edible. To prevent this from happening, Swiss food companies are adding another line: “often good for longer” [oft länger gut / souvent bon après]. The initiative comes from the creators of the Swiss branch of Too Good To Go, an international mobile app that makes it easy to buy surplus baked goods, salads and buffet leftovers at discounted prices. This new way of labelling products should encourage consumers to use their ...