Many of us are looking for ways to save money, while still eating as healthily as possible. This means choosing own-brand foods, frozen foods and for many of us, trying to make our foods last as long as possible by regrowing them over and over.
However, one Instagram creator has found a way to know which foods are freshest in the supermarket to save money and guarantee that the fruits and vegetables you buy last longer in your fridge.
It’s as simple as ABC
According to Instagram creator Gemma Bird, AKA Money Mum, we can check how fresh our vegetables are in the supermarket just by looking at the packaging – and all you need to decipher it is knowledge of your ABCs.
According to Bird, the letters that we see on packaging refer to a month. This means A for January, B for February, etc.
Then, the number next to this letter refers to the date of the month that the food was picked. The more recent the number, the fresher the food is.
However, one commenter wants us to think for ourselves when it comes to food, commenting: “I really wish people would stop looking at best before dates. We should all be using our own common sense with regards to whether something is fresh or not. We are far too dependent on the best before dates. They won’t kill you.”
Best before dates scrapped in supermarkets
Several supermarkets scrapped best before dates on their produce last summer. This was in an attempt to minimise food waste and make shoppers a little less worried about when they use foods.
This is thought to be because of a miscomprehension of what “best before” actually means.
It’s thought that some people believed it meant the foods weren’t safe to eat past a certain date, but really “best before” means just that – the food is at its best before that date.
But that doesn’t mean it’s no longer tasty or edible beyond the printed date.