Flash Eurobarometer (425) survey on food waste and date marking

Overview

This pan-European quantitative consumer research, carried out by the European Commission in 2015, seeks to understand citizens’ perceptions, attitudes and practices related to the management and consumption of food resources, and more specifically, to investigate the role of date marking found on food labelling in relation to food waste.

The first section of the report provides an overview of citizens’ attitudes towards the prevention of food waste, while the rest of the study focuses on citizens’ attention to, understanding and use of date marking on the labels of food products.

The study examines

• the extent to which citizens across Member States pay attention to “use by” and “best before” dates and correctly understand their meaning
• respondents’ attitudes to the necessity of “best before” labelling for non-perishable foods and citizens’ habits concerning the use and possible disposal of such foods not labelled
• how citizens utilise storage guidelines found on food labelling.

Contact name: European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety
Contact email: SANTE-FOOD-WASTE@ec.europa.eu
More info link: http://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_waste/stop_en