Hidden supermarket label on fruit and veg that shoppers have 'no idea' about

A savvy mum has revealed a clever trick to help shoppers avoid wasting fruit and vegetables. WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) recently disclosed that Brits waste such a vast quantity of vegetables each year, it could fill the 90,000 seats at Wembley Stadium eight times over.

Every day, nearly three million whole potatoes, one million bananas, and 2.1 million carrots are discarded in UK households. However, one woman has devised an ingenious method to reduce this wastage of fruit and vegetable products.

Known as Money Mum, she is a regular in supermarket discount aisles and has even penned a Sunday Times bestseller titled 'Save Yourself Happy'. As a personal finance influencer, she shares tips to assist families amidst the escalating cost of living crisis.

Read more Aldi issues emergency alert to shoppers and warns 'return it to nearest store'

She now suggests that prolonging the life of your fruit and vegetables is all down to understanding a coded label. On her Instagram account, which boasts 440,000 followers, Gemma shared: "Ok did you know this!

"A is the month so Jan. The number is the date so say the 18th. Stop getting food waste.", reports the Mirror.

She highlighted the codes on leeks at a Tesco store, explaining how to spot the freshest produce. She noted that a package marked 'F15' indicates it was packed on June 15, saying: "Want to know a hack for buying freshers food? The F is the month! So June if F, and that is month six. January would be A."

Gemma continued: "It means you can buy the fresher food rather than it going off quickly - wasting food and money." A Tesco worker had previously informed The Express about being trained in this coding system. The influencer showcased it with mangetout packets; one read 'A3' while another displayed 'A6'.

The letter represents the month, with A for January, and the number signifies the day of the month. Reacting to Money Mum's revelation, a supermarket employee commented: "Until I started working in Tesco doing the reductions. I had no idea about this. It's such a good thing for helping reduce waste."

Others chimed in on the video, with one saying: "It's meant to stop so much waste." Another exclaimed: "This is amazing! [I] was getting so annoyed not knowing how old the veg was when it doesn't have a date on it! ".

Another viewer remarked: "These dates are to help with stock rotation and reduce waste. Too many people do not use food because of a date on the pack." "Wow did not know that," someone else added.