Society learns new information about the climate every day and is encouraged to create new innovative solutions to reduce the environmental footprint. Arla has embraced this with a new label on its packaging, which will hopefully change people's behavior to avoid throwing fine food in the bin.
Just below the usual "Best before" label, the label now reads "Often good after" to indicate that the product often lasts longer than the date indicated on the packaging.
Arla's file, yogurt and milk packages are in most of Sweden's refrigerators. According to Arla's website, around 340 million people consume their products every year, which means that every day more and more people are reminded that food is often just as good after, a message that can be successful.
(Please read our previous post " How should we approach the "best before date"? , just click on the link)
But how long does milk last?
Depending on how you have stored your milk will affect its shelf life. Putting the milk directly in the fridge after shopping, or not leaving it on the table for as long, can be one such tip. Milk cartons should be stored at a maximum of 8 degrees plus, and preferably colder than that. Where the misunderstanding has arisen is that many people just rely on the labeling, and that it determines whether the product is fresh or not. This can be very misleading and leads to more food being thrown away unnecessarily.
Even if the expiry date has passed, the milk may still be perfectly fresh. To check this, smelling, looking and tasting the product before throwing it away can be a way to reduce your own environmental footprint.
