A savvy mom revealed a supermarket secret that could change the way you shop for groceries and potentially extend the shelf life of your purchases.
Gemma Bird, known to her followers as @Moneymum and celebrated as a Sunday Times bestselling author, has taken to social media to share her insider knowledge on how to choose produce that stays fresh longer.
While most shoppers are used to checking best before dates to ensure they are getting the freshest produce, some produce, such as certain fresh vegetables, do not have these dates.
However, Gemma shared a lesser-known code found on the packaging that acts as a freshness indicator. In a recent TikTok video, the money-saving guru asked his audience if they wanted to “know a hack for buying fresh food.”
He then pointed to the code F15 on the package of leeks, explaining that the letter corresponds to the month, with the “F” representing June, the sixth month, and the number indicating the day of the month.
Therefore, leeks marked with the code F15 would have a best before date of June 15.
He added: “F is the month. So June is F because it’s month six. January would be A. Then the number is the day in that month. So in that case the leeks’ best before date would be June 15.”
Best before means that the food is at its best until then, not necessarily that it is no longer safe to eat. Best before dates usually appear on products that do not require refrigeration or freezing, such as dry pasta, bread, canned goods, fruits or vegetables.
Many were grateful to finally find out what the codes meant, with one person writing: “OMG THANKS SO MUCH! I’m always so confused! When I see those letters and numbers I never knew what they were and I stopped throwing them away because I wasn’t sure. ” Another added: “Thanks, I had no idea what this meant on the packaging!”
A third said: “It’s to reduce food waste so people don’t freak out that their carrots are a day past their best-before date. Only foods that are obvious when they’re spoiled are given these codes.”
