Most consumers can't tell the difference between “best before” and “use by” dates on food and use them interchangeably.

In this episode of Food Waste Matters, Dr Joanne Freeman sits down with Associate Professor Lukas Parker from RMIT to delve into the intricacies of food labelling and how clear instructions could help mitigate food waste.

Lukas is based in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University, where he leads 3C, Communication and Change Co-lab. He is also a member of End Food Waste Australia, leading the National Date Labelling and Storage Advice Project.

Specifically, his team worked with End Food Waste Australia to collect data from 125 consumer interviews, which explored how consumers use (or do not use) existing food datelabelling and storage advice to determine food freshness. Tune into this episode as Jo and Lukas discuss key findings and information, including:

·     Confusion about existing labels and how to deal with food freshness, reliability, and storage.

·     How advice such as ‘store in a cool, dry place’ was interpreted as vague, unhelpful, and less likely to be perceived as reliable or trustworthy for more humid climates.

·     Differences in demographics when making decisions about food quality and waste.

·     The usefulness of food dates to manage food at home and from a businessperspective.

·     Riskier food categories and the differences in discernment when assessing if food can still be consumed.

Date labels are not straightforward, and this episode touches on key points from consumers and researchers alike. To find out more about the national date labelling and storage advice (phase 1) please visit https://endfoodwaste.com.au/projects/national-date-labelling-and-storage-advice-phase-1/. Additional details about 3C (Communication and Change Co-lab) are also available at https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/schools-colleges/media-and-communication/research/communication-change-colab.  

If you would like to reach out to Lukas he can be reached on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlukas/.

This podcast is brought to you by Honey & Fox, whose passion is food and the people who produce it. Honey & Foxworks with fishers, farmers and small food businesses to help them find and sell to their perfect customers – people who will buy without questioning the price. Find out more at www.honeyandfox.com.au.

This podcast is supported by End Food Waste Australia, which is leading impactful and research-informed food wasteactions. To learn more about how they are working toward a more sustainable future, please visit ⁠www.endfoodwaste.com.au⁠.