What are best before products?
Products with a ‘best before‘ (BB or BBE) date on them are products that are still safe for consumption after that date. This is because the BB date refers to the quality of the product and not the safety of the product. As long as a product with a best before date on it doesn’t have any obvious signs of spoilage on it, such as mould for example, it is still safe to consume after the BBE date has passed. On the other hand, products with a ‘use by’ date on them should never be consumed after the date has passed. This is because a ‘use by‘ date indicates safety of the food and therefore the food can be dangerous for humans if consumed after the use by date has passed. More information about this can be found on the government food safety website here: https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/best-before-and-use-by-dates
Why is it important to know this?
Being aware of the difference between ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ products helps us keep safe and avoid food waste. Food waste refers to food that is not eaten. About 1/3 (one third) of world’s food is being wasted. Food waste is an important part of the impact of agriculture on climate change and other environmental issues, such as land use, water use and loss of biodiversity (source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_loss_and_waste).
What do we do to help reduce food waste?
At Niyis we strongly believe that it is very important to take care of our climate and we try our best to be eco-friendly and to ensure we have policies in place that promote these values. Therefore, any products that have a past ‘best before’ date on them are sold at half price to our customers. As much as we like to encourage people to join us in helping to reduce food waste, we understand that there are some people who would rather not get a product with a past BB. As a result, our rule is, that all products have to be checked by our warehouse operators before sending them to customers. If a product with a past BB is found, we would normally call the customer to explain all this and ask if they are happy to receive the product at half price. Therefore our customers can decide for themselves and either get a good deal while helping reduce food waste or just get a refund (if another product isn’t available). As humans are involved in the packaging process, mistakes sometimes happen, but we are always happy to help with any issues that might arise. Therefore, if you do receive a product with a past ’best before’ date without being informed beforehand, please contact us on our email address: admin@niyis.co.uk, our live chat or simply give us a call on: +44 118 975 7751 and we will make it right for you.