When did ‘best before’ dates begin?

An idea past its sell-by date

Waitrose has announced the removal of ‘best before’ dates from many food products.

– The idea of printing dates began with Marks & Spencer in the 1950s, but only for use in the stockroom. They first appeared in the company’s shops in 1970 and were named ‘sell-by’ dates from 1973, launched with an advertising campaign saying: ‘The sell-by date means that St Michael foods are fresh.’ There was also a TV advert which featured Twiggy.

– The concept was quickly adopted by other supermarkets after evidence that shoppers liked the reassurance of a date. It was expanded in the 1980s, with ‘best before’ dates and ‘use-by’ dates, the first being advisory and the second indicating a genuine risk of food poisoning. The idea has now gone full circle: last month M&S, too, said it was dropping sell-by dates on many fruits and vegetables to cut waste – replacing them with stockroom codes.