Date marking on food poorly understood by Europeans

27 October 2015

The European Commission (EC) has published the results of the first Flash Eurobarometer survey on food waste and date marking. Key findings confirm that date marking is poorly understood by Europeans. Just under half (47%) understand the meaning of "best before" and 40% are aware of the meaning of "use by".
The study confirms the need to pursue targeted information and educational initiatives on date marking taking into account the level of understanding and information needs of different consumer groups. The Commission will propose initiatives against food waste as part of the new circular economy package to be presented by the end of the year (EC Daily News, 13 October 2015).
Click here for the news item (scroll down).
Click here for the Eurobarometer (3.99 MB).
Click here for an infographic of the results (14.29 MB).

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