Columnists

Nadine O’Regan: ‘Best Before’ wars in your kitchen? Put your faith in the mothers of the 1980s

M&S's plan to remove the Best Before warning from certain products should help to keep lots of edible food out of the recycle bin, but it comes too late to save the perfectly good food that was lost before its time

Whereas fresh dairy and meat products have use by dates because they spoil, chucking other food products in the bin after their ‘best before’ date is a shocking waste in light of the environmental crisis we face. Picture: Getty

There are great debates that divide us all: Brexit; Trump; gun control. But in my household, there’s another issue that can cause just as impassioned an argument, and keep us infuriated for almost as long: best before dates – and their reliability in assessing whether a fruit or vegetable should be tossed in the bin or retained for your plate.

Like having an affiliation with a political party, your championing of a side in the ...