A few weeks ago our colleagues from Direct to the Palate talked about whether it was sure to have an expired yogurt. This article indicated that according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture, 21% of Spaniards consume expired food in the following days and 20% choose to consume or throw them away depending on the type of product.
To try to reduce these behaviors and make better use of consumption, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture has decided eliminate the expiration date of yogurts although they will have preferential consumption date. It is a strategy called More food, less waste it will try to reduce the loss of food in half by 2025. The challenge for manufacturers is to evaluate the reasonable time in which they can consume their yogurt.
What this measure means, according to the Ministry, is that, from now on, consumers will know that until now the yogurt maintains all its organoleptic properties, although from then on it does not mean that its consumption is harmful.
Food waste, although there is no consensus on what this concept means, is a serious problem and Spain is in the seventh country that wastes the most food in Europe behind Germany (10.3 tons), Holland (9.4 tons), France (9 tons), Poland (8.9 tons) and Italy (8.8 tons).
The objective of the measure is to also promote agreements with other agents and manufacturers and especially with the food banks with which they will try to reach agreements in addition to the charities and the agri-food sector.
Also, Minister Arias Cañete has affirmed that new technologies should allow us to be more effective in the fight against waste so work will be promoted to improve the efficiency in the use of products and the impulse to help lines for innovative projects.
I think it is good to educate and educate the consumer because it makes no sense that expired yogurts are thrown in the trash because, especially the taste as commented by our colleagues from Direct to the Palate, is the one that is modified once the expiration date has passed.
