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Photo: Erling Fløistad
More accurate date labelling cut food waste
Large amounts of food are discarded in Norway because the expiration date has passed,
even though the food is often still safe to eat. Now food producers will receive guidance to
set more accurate date labels.
Through the Industry Agreement on Food Waste
Reduction, established in 2017, authorities and pri-
vate actors have committed to reduce food waste at
all stages of the food chain by 2030. Norway is cur-
rently behind this target. NIBIO, together with
­ Matvett and Nofima, will now investigate how Nor-
wegian food producers determine the expiration date
and type of date labelling and whether better guid-
ance on these matters can help reduce unnecessary
food waste.
“We will map how food producers determine date
labelling today, what challenges they face, and
whether they can receive better guidance. The aim is
to make it easier to avoid discarding edible food,”
says researcher and project leader Dr Anlaug Ådland
Hansen at Nofima.
Different rules in different countries
A 2015 study published in the TemaNord series
shows that practices for determining date labelling
vary across the Nordic countries.
“As part of the project, we will provide an overview
of the guidance materials available in Norway. At the
same time, we will compare materials from the
­ Norwegian Food Safety Authority with those issued
by similar authorities in other countries,” says Pia
Borg, Senior Adviser at NIBIO.
She points out that it will be particularly interesting
to see whether authorities in comparable countries
interpret the rules and built-in flexibility in the same
way as in Norway, or whether interpretations are
flexible.
Through surveys and interviews with food producers,
the researchers aim to identify where the main chal-
lenges lie and what could be improved, providing
new insight into how date labelling is determined
and whether more accurate date labelling could
reduce food waste.
Purpose: Collaboration: Funding: Contact: Map and understand how food producers determine date labelling to prevent edible food from
being discarded.
Nofima, Matvett, NHO Food and Drink, and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority
Research funds for agriculture and the food industry
Senior Adviser Pia Borg, Division of Food Production and Society.
Email: pia.borg@nibio.no | Telephone: +47 906 39 224.
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