A supermarket says it will make more changes to the way it dates and packages its products from the end of this month after removing the best before dates from an initial 1,500 items.

As part of efforts to stop millions of food items going to waste, Sainsbury's, like an increasing number of retailers, removed the best before dates from over 1,000 products including fresh food such as bananas, pineapples and apples and more unusual lines such as potted herbs and other indoor plants.

But from the end of this month more changes will be made to close to 300 of its own brand products in further attempts to cut food waste in customers' homes.

Produce including pears, onions, tomatoes and citrus fruits will not include best before dates after the end of August, followed by other food items such as potatoes. while use by dates will be switched for best before dates on all own-brand yoghurts.

With the average family in the UK throwing away £700 of food each year - the upcoming changes, says the supermarket, will help to save an additional 11,000 tones of food or the equivalent to 17 million products.

The message ‘no date helps reduce waste’ will also be put on packs of fresh produce affected by the label changes.

Sainsbury's is one of a number of supermarkets which has experimented with changing the way it labels food items with dates as the pressure to waste less food increases as a result of the cost of living crisis.

A recent report from British charity WRAP - the Waste & Resources Action Programme - said that removing date labels from the most wasted fresh produce items such as, broccoli, apples, potatoes and cucumber, has the potential to cut annual household food waste by 50,000 tonnes.

An estimated 54,000 tonnes of yoghurt alone is wasted each year - half of that in completely unopened packs - with WRAP suggesting that 70% of this waste is purely down to customers following the rules on the date label rather than assessing the quality of the dairy itself.

According to the Food Standards Agency, ‘use by’ dates are linked to food safety, whereas ‘best before’ dates relate to food quality, and while food with a use by date should never be consumed past that date those with a best before date could be eaten.

Sainsbury’s says stringent testing has confirmed that its yoghurt is safe to consume past its expiration date, and so wishes to now give customers 'more autonomy' to make their own decisions on whether the food is good to eat.

Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change at WRAP, said: "WRAP is thrilled to see these changes on fruit, veg and yogurts to help tackle food waste in our homes. Wasting food feeds climate change and costs us money. The right date label, or no date label, has a big influence on what we use and what we throw away.

"For fruit and veg, date labels are unnecessary and our research has shown that removing them can save the equivalent of 7 million shopping baskets’ worth from our household bins a year. With yogurts, applying a ‘Best Before’ date rather than a ‘Use By’ date means that people can use their judgement to eat beyond that date. Storing most fruit and veg and all yoghurt products in the fridge, below 5 degrees, will keep them fresher longer.

"We call on more retailers to make these changes."