Marks & Spencer scraps milk use-by dates to cut waste

Marks & Spencer has become the latest retailer to scrap use-by dates on milk as part of efforts to cut food waste.

The dates, which are meant to tell customers when food is safe to eat, will be replaced by best-before dates instead, which are recommendations on freshness.

The supermarket chain urged customers to use their judgement on whether the milk is safe to use.

M&S follows retailers including Morrisons in changing milk labelling.

Milk is among the food shopping goods that are thrown away the most by UK households, alongside bread and potatoes, according to environmental charity Wrap.

It said nearly 490 million pints are wasted each year, and the "main reason is not drinking before the use-by date".

M&S said better shelf-life and improvements in milk quality meant consumers could use "their judgement on what's still good to eat" without having to rely on the labelling.