Too Good To Go Blog

Launching our 'Look-Smell-Taste' initiative

Trust your senses and reduce food waste

Too Good To Go has just launched their 'Look-Smell-Taste' initiative to help educate consumers that a product past its Best Before date could still be good to eat. Our 'Look-Smell-Taste' label encourages you to trust your senses, and look, smell and taste food items before wasting them.

Best Before: a misunderstood date that leads to food waste

Did you know that 40% of Canadians throw out food past the Best Before date at least once a week? That leads to a lot of avoidable household food waste. Especially since we know that around the world, 40% of all the food produced is wasted - accounting for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

So let's dive into the details:
Expiration dates, found only on certain foods with strict nutritional specifications, are about food safety. Food should be consumed or frozen before the expiration date.

Best Before dates, on the other hand, indicate how long a properly stored, unopened food will keep its optimal quality such as freshness and taste. Often, food can still be consumed after the Best Before date.

“For generations, people trusted their senses to tell if food was good to eat or not. “Best Before” dates, though well intentioned, are a source of confusion across the supply chain as people misunderstand them as food safety dates when in actual fact, these dates only refer to peak freshness. These Best Before date labels contribute to perfectly good food being thrown away in processing, at restaurants, in supermarkets, and at home. We’re pleased to support Too Good To Go’s common-sense approach for preventing unnecessary food waste, where a new label posted next to a “best before” date helps remind consumers to look, smell and taste before they discard food.” Craig Hodge, Chair, National Zero Waste Council

Check out the video below to learn more about how to look, smell, and taste certain products with a Best Before date.

Put your own senses to the test

LOOK: Does your product look okay ? Do you see mold? Is the packaging undamaged?
SMELL: Does your product smell as expected? Does it have a pungent smell?
TASTE: Does your product taste good? Is it acid or sour?

If the shelf-stable food item is unopened and stored correctly, and looks, smells and tastes okay, you can safely consume this product even past its Best Before date.

Let’s reduce food waste together and help our environment!

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Have you spotted the label on your favourite products already?

Too Good To Go’s 'Look-Smell-Taste' label helps remind people that a product past its Best Before date could still be good to eat and encourages people to trust your senses. We are proud to be already working with 14 brands across the country.