Overview

• Following Grace Forell’s August 8 ITV appearance, UK media outlets have launched consumer guides to explain the new freshness codes.
• Tesco and Asda use a letter-and-number system in which the letter represents the month (A=January through H=August) and the number indicates the day.
• Sainsbury’s produce labels are bookended by “J” and “S,” with the numbers in between denoting the date in DDMM format.
• Morrisons employs the first letter of the month followed by the day number to mark when fruit and vegetables are at their best.
• Experts warn that these codes indicate peak quality rather than food safety and advise shoppers to rely on smell, appearance, and taste to judge edibility.