Proposals by the government to scrap printed labels featuring best before dates for food have been welcomed by one organisation.

Earlier this month, environment secretary Caroline Spelman announced the coalition is looking into this development in a bid to decrease the amount of food thrown away each year.

Sam Jarvis, head of communications at Waste Watch, said he thinks this measure is "long overdue", as the information leaves shoppers bewildered about what they should and should not be eating.

"By making labelling more straightforward, we'll be able to communicate a simpler message to shoppers, which should lead to less confusion," he remarked.

Best before dates are required by law at present, but they only indicate when a food is likely to start losing its optimum flavour.

It is the use by dates on printed labels that are more serious, as they are placed on items such as eggs to indicate when they will become dangerous to consume.

Denny Bros Ltd, 21 April 2011