Norway Supermarket Peddles Less Pricey Products, Well Past Their Prime

by | Aug 17, 2017

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The increasing furor over food waste we’ve been seeing in the US has been going on for nearly a decade in Norway, when in 2010 the state and the food industry began working to together to reduce the amount of food that goes unconsumed. Now, a new store called Best Før – the first of its kind in Oslo – helps stop food from being tossed by selling food that has passed its prime. The store, which opened last October, informs customers with a large sign that the food sold in the store – everything from frozen chicken nuggets to taco shells, coffee pods to produce – are past their best-by dates.

In 2010, the food industry in Norway began collecting stats on how much food is wasted throughout the supply chain, which led to changes such as the creation of smaller packs of food, product label adaptations, and consumer education. By 2015, edible food waste had been reduced by 12% per person, the Guardian reports.

Other innovations are helping the country reach its food waste reduction goals. A platform called bestfør.no lets supermarkets find food nearing its best-by date through a digital record, allowing the store to locate and re-price those items without having to search the shelves physically.

Though the food at the Best Før may not “taste quite the same” (according to operations manager Naeeh Ahmed), at least it’s cheap, with many items selling at 50% or more less than original price. And that might be enough of an incentive for local shoppers, who are used to spending a bundle on food items. Norway emerged as the country with the highest prices in Europe for milk, cheese and eggs in a survey by Eurostar. These items were found to be 77% higher on average than in EU countries, writes NewsInEnglish.no, a publication that offers news about Norway to English speaking readers.

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