Is Morrisons supermarket sniff test on milk a good idea? We asked people in Birmingham

It is estimated that around 490 million pints of milk is wasted every year, making it the third most wasted food and drink product in the UK.

To combat this, Morrissons have announced plans to scrap ‘use by’ dates and encourage customers to use the sniff test to check quality. We asked the people of Birmingham what they think of the plan.

Sarah says: “Um, yeah, I think things like that ARE good because it gets people involved. And also it gets people… well, it also makes sure that they’re doing their job properly as well. And they’re not just, you know, things like sniff tests, or tasting. Yeah, anything like that. Yeah.”

Tom says: “I think it’s a very good idea - best before dates on the milk, that is - because there’s a lot of wastage of milk, a lot of which goes in the bin. And I’d be happy to do a sniff test on the milk, anyway.”

Faiz says: “No, I don’t think I would, especially if it’s close to it’s sell by date and hasn’t necessarily gone off yet. So like anyone would just like buy it. But it’s a health safety issue as well - you’re just opening milk, the milk’s out there and other people are smelling it, especially in this pandemic.”

Don says: “Milk is sealed, in, isn’t it, so to smell it you’re gonna have to take off the seal. And then what - that’s wasted. So doesn’t really make sense. So just look at the use by date, if you need to know if it’s in date. Or even just look at the bottle - you can see if it’s curdled.”

Laura says: “Yeah, I think I would - I think I’d be able to sniff milk and know whether it’s off or not. To be honest, in my household it lasts no longer than the best before day anyway, so it’s not a facility I’d have to use. I think it’s a bit of a weird one. I’m not sure how it helps people. Kind of, I think dates are more helpful for a lot of people than sniffing milk on your way around a shop. It’s not something I would probably do to be honest.”

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