Irish brands unite to tackle food waste with ‘Look-Smell-Taste’ campaign
Too Good To Go partners with leading Irish brands to clarify food labels, encouraging consumers to reduce waste by using their senses before discarding food past its Best Before date
Print7 November 2024
Too Good To Go, the social impact company behind the world’s largest surplus food app, has teamed up with a number of leading Irish brands to address the confusion surrounding food labels, and reduce unnecessary food waste.
The Look–Smell–Taste campaign, launched yesterday, aims to raise consumers awareness about the difference between Use By and Best Before labels, encouraging the nation to use their senses to determine if food past its Best Before date may still be good to eat.
Participating brands such as Guinness Food Products, Ballymaloe Foods, Danone, Kellogg’s, Wexford Cheese, The Plant-It Food Co., and others will now include a new ‘Look-Smell-Taste Don’t Waste’ label on their products to guide consumers.
Sustainable Development Goal
Also attending the launch at Merrion Square today was Charlie McConalogue, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, who said: “The UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 aims to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030.”
This ambition is reflected in Ireland’s Food Waste Prevention Roadmap and in Food Vision 2030, the 10 year strategy for the agri food sector, which include actions to prevent and reduce food waste.
This initiative by Too Good To Go aims to help consumers to differentiate between “use by” and “best before dates” on food products in their homes because, in some cases, some food that has passed its “best before date” may not need to be wasted but may still be good to eat.
Minister McConalogue said: “We can all help to achieve the 2030 target by identifying what food we waste in our households, why we waste food and examining ways to reduce our food waste. Taking the time to evaluate food with the “best before dates” is one way to manage and prevent food waste.”
To Good To Go
New research* conducted by Too Good To Go reveals that some Irish consumers are confused about the meaning of food labels.
The survey found that 14% of Irish adults surveyed mistakenly believe that a Best Before label indicates that the food is unsafe to consume after the specified date, while just under a third surveyed (27%) worry that eating food waste on its Best Before date will make them sick.
This misconception is leading to unnecessary food disposal, with 38% of Irish adults surveyed admitting to throwing away food that had gone past its ‘Best Before’ date.
Research also revealed that a staggering 25% of Irish households waste more than €10 worth of food each week due to misunderstandings about Best Before dates.
This contributes to a significant amount of unnecessary food waste in the country.
To combat this issue, Too Good To Go encourages consumers to adopt simple food waste reduction strategies, such as freezing surplus food and creating detailed shopping lists to avoid impulse purchases.
Use By / Best Before
16 brands in Ireland have already signed on to the campaign, pledging to switch products from Use By to Best Before labels appropriate in accordance with shelf life studies undertaken to support the change in date labelling and FSAI Guidance** and provide clear on-pack reminders to consumers.
Amongst the brands already signed up to part in the Look-Smell-Taste campaign are some of Ireland’s biggest brands including The Plant-It Food Co., Bel Group (The Laughing Cow), Ballymaloe Foods, Kellogg’s and Guinness Food Products. Musgrave (SuperValu) is also the first supermarket partner to trial the initiative in Ireland.
Best Before product lines from these brands will now include a new label on product packaging, created by Too Good To Go, to remind consumers to trust their senses – and ‘Look-Smell-Taste, Don’t Waste’ – before throwing away food past its Best Before date.
Positive step forward
“The partnership between Too Good To Go and these iconic Irish brands is a hugely positive step towards combating food waste and reducing the environmental impact of food consumption across Ireland,” said Sophie Trueman, managing director for Ireland and UK, Too Good To Go.
Trueman noted that the support and backing of these businesses play an important role in raising awareness about the issue of food waste to consumers, but also addresses the confusion surrounding food labels.
“By using our senses we can massively reduce the amount of good, safe food wasted at household level and total food waste globally,” said Jessica Prendergast, global head of marketing, The Plant-It Food Co.
The Plant-It Food Co is proud to support its consumers to lead healthier, more sustainable lifestyles and by including the label on its pack, giving a gentle reminder to Look-Smell-Taste before you waste.
What is the difference between Best Before date and Use By date?
The Use By date is for food safety. Food should not be eaten after the Use By date.
The Best Before date is about optimal food quality.
In many cases, food can still safely be consumed after the Best Before date, if stored correctly.
Remember to trust your senses: if a Best Before-labelled food has been stored correctly, and looks, smells, and tastes okay, then it may be perfectly safe to consume.
Too Good To Go is committed to helping consumers make informed decisions about their food and reduce food waste.
By partnering with Irish brands and raising awareness about food labels, the company hopes to make a significant impact on the issue.
For more information about Too Good To Go, visit here.
Read more: ALDI and Too Good To Go hit 100,000 sales milestone for Surprise Bags in Ireland
Related Articles
Sustainability champions →
Fans 0
Followers