Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention Final Report Written by ICF in association with Anthesis, Brook Lyndhurst, and WRAP January 2018 EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety Directorate E - Food and feed safety, innovation Unit E1 — Food information and composition, food waste E-mail: [email protected] European Commission B-1049 Brussels EUROPEAN COMMISSION Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention Final Report Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety January, 2018 Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). LEGAL NOTICE This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://www.europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018 PDF ISBN 978-92-79-73421-2 doi: 10.2875/808514 EW-01-17-979-EN-N © European Union, 2018 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention Table of Contents Glossary ............................................................................................................ i Abstract ........................................................................................................... iii Executive Summary ........................................................................................... v Method .......................................................................................................... v Findings from the desk research ....................................................................... vi Findings from the stakeholder consultations and market survey ............................ vi Conclusions .................................................................................................... ix Recommendations .......................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction ...............................................................................................12 1.1 This report ...........................................................................................12 1.2 Purpose ...............................................................................................12 1.3 Method ................................................................................................12 1.4 Structure of this report ..........................................................................13 2 Desk research ............................................................................................13 2.1 Introduction .........................................................................................13 2.2 Date-marking practices in the EU food chain ............................................14 2.3 Evidence on the links between consumer use of date marks and food waste 16 2.4 Determinants of product life and its impact on food waste .........................18 2.5 The products that contribute most to food waste in the EU .........................20 2.6 The wasted food products most sensitive to date mark and labelling issues ..23 3 Market research ..........................................................................................26 3.1 Introduction .........................................................................................26 3.2 Method ................................................................................................26 3.3 Market research results and analysis .......................................................31 3.4 Open-life and on-pack storage advice ......................................................52 3.5 Summary and conclusions .....................................................................56 4 Stakeholder consultations on date marking practice ........................................59 4.1 Research design and method .................................................................59 4.2 Stakeholders’ understanding of “use by” and “best before” ........................60 4.3 Factors in producers’ choice of date mark type .........................................61 4.4 Factors that determine location, format and legibility of the date mark ........64 4.5 Factors in setting product shelf life ..........................................................64 4.6 Storage advice and open life advice ........................................................69 4.7 Use of date marking in managing the food supply chain.............................70 4.8 Enforcement of date marking rules .........................................................72 4.9 Barriers to, and facilitators of, better utilisation of date marking in relation to food waste prevention ....................................................................................72 4.10 Stakeholder views on Annex X of the FIC Regulation .................................79 5 Conclusions ................................................................................................81 5.1 Introduction .........................................................................................81 5.2 The existing evidence base ....................................................................81 5.3 Choice of date mark type (“use by”, “best before”) ...................................81 5.4 Product shelf life/ setting of expiry date ...................................................83 5.5 On-pack storage advice and open-life instructions.....................................84 5.6 Legibility and layout of date mark and on-pack information ........................85 5.7 Enforcement of compliance with FIC Regulation and guidance ....................85 5.8 Donation of food past the "best before" date ............................................86 5.9 Possible further exemptions to date marking under FIC Regulation Annex X .86 Overall conclusions ........................................................................................86 Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention 6 Recommendations .......................................................................................87 6.1 Introduction .........................................................................................87 6.2 Technical guidance and support for dialogue within the supply chain would help to steer FBOs towards best practice in date labelling ...................................87 6.3 FBOs should be encouraged to act to address the problem of illegible date marks as a priority .........................................................................................88 6.4 Further steps could be taken to help empower consumers to make informed choices .........................................................................................................88 6.5 Support efforts to extend product life ......................................................89 6.6 Address barriers to safe redistribution of food ..........................................90 Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention Glossary Term Meaning Available life The period of time remaining on a product at a given stage in the supply chain Avoidable food waste Edible materials of a food product that could have been consumed but become waste for various reasons. Company brand A brand owned by a food manufacturer Defra UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs EU 28 The 28 Member States of the European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FBO Food Business Operator – for example, a company that produces or retails food, or an organisation that operates a food bank FIC Regulation Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers Food waste A general term comprising of avoidable and unavoidable food waste. FUSIONS Food Use for Social Innovation by Optimising Waste Prevention Strategies, a multi-stakeholder platform LBRO Local Better Regulation Office MAP Modified Atmosphere Packaging Minimum Life On Receipt The amount of life remaining on a product on receipt into (MLOR) a retailer’s depot. Retailers use MLOR to assess whether the available life remaining on a product when delivered to retail depot is sufficient for retail and consumer stages. MS Member State(s) Mt Million tonnes NACE codes «nomenclature statistique des activités économiques dans la Communauté européenne» : Statistical classification of the economic activities in the European Community NCA National Competent Authority Open Life The period that a product should be consumed within once open, e.g. ‘once opened consume within x days’, as specified on an information label on the product packaging POS Point Of Sale January, 2018 i Market study on date marking and other information provided on food labels and food waste prevention Term Meaning PRODCOM