The Evidence on Reducing Food Waste, Without the Hype

Key takeaways

• Use-by date: a safety date; do not eat after it
• Best-before date: a quality date; food is usually safe after it
• Most useful single change: Keep the fridge at 5C or below and check it with a thermometer.
• Commonest mistake: Eating anything past its use-by date.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

What it is

Buying, storing and using food so that less of it is thrown away. It sits within Healthy Recipes. Here are the numbers, taken from the guidance cited at the end.

The numbers, in one place

What helps

Here is what the evidence supports doing. Some of it will already be familiar.

• Keep the fridge at 5C or below and check it with a thermometer
• Freeze bread and milk, both of which freeze well
• Plan meals around what needs using first
• Store fruit and vegetables as the packaging advises

What to avoid

Things that seem reasonable and are not.

• Eating anything past its use-by date
• Overfilling the fridge, which stops cold air circulating
• Confusing best-before with use-by

Where to go next

• A Q and A on Reducing Food Waste
• Reducing Food Waste: The Quick Reference
• Reducing Food Waste — the reference entry
• What the Guidance Really Says About Cooking Methods
• Breakfast: Sorting the Evidence From the Noise

When to speak to a doctor

Never eat food past its use-by date, and never refreeze food that has been thawed unless you have cooked it in between. Contact NHS 111 for vomiting or diarrhoea lasting more than a couple of days, blood in stool, or signs of dehydration.

Where this comes from

• Food Standards Agency — food safety at home
• NHS — How to store food and leftovers

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.