Study says majority of Canadians oppose losing ‘best before’ dates on food products

While several grocers in Europe are eliminating the use of “best before” dates on products to cut down on food waste, the vast majority of Canadians rely heavily on that information when they buy their groceries.

A new study out of Dalhousie University says 73 per cent of Canadians will always look at best before dates for dairy products but only 32 per cent will look for the same details on packaged foods. The same study also shows men are less concerned about knowing that information.

When it comes to food safety, Canada is the number one country in the world.

Scientists say those dates are really only suggestions, but if the product is already open some people may want to follow the best before date.

20 per cent of Canadians smell their food to ensure it’s still good to eat but scientists say that’s not always the best method.

“You can’t smell listeria, you can’t see it and you can’t taste it either. If you don’t have that best before date as a point of reference it becomes a little bit more difficult to assess the quality and safety of a product,” Dr. Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University said.

The study also showed that nearly 80 per cent of Canadians surveyed are fine eating food that has passed the best before date. Nearly half of Canadians surveyed will buy older food if it’s on sale.