Channel Islands Co-op becomes latest supermarket to scrap sell-by dates

Co-op are removing sell-by dates from own brand products.
The Co-op says customers should judge the freshness of a product for themselves before buying. Credit: ITV Channel Television

The Channel Islands Co-op has become the latest supermarket to ditch sell-by dates on its products in an attempt to reduce food waste.

Several products like dairy items and desserts will no longer have expiry dates, with the retailer saying shoppers should judge the quality of the product before they buy.

The Co-op is the latest supermarket to remove the expiry dates from a range of products, following Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and Morrisons in the UK.

The supermarket chain announced in April that it would be removing sell-by dates from its own-brand yoghurts.

In Jersey, food waste makes up around a third of rubbish thrown away by households.

While in Guernsey, more than 50 tonnes of food waste is collected from homes on the island each week.

Mark Cox, the Channel Islands Co-op's CEO, hopes that the removal of expiry dates will help to support and preserve the natural environment.

He says: "We recognised that we have a responsibility to reduce our contribution to the issue of food waste, hence why we are making this move to further reduce wastage."

The campaign also aims to educate islanders on the meaning behind dates on food packaging which can help reduce food wastage and save money.