Waitrose has been identified as the UK supermarket with the shortest average shelf life for fresh groceries, according to a new investigation by consumer watchdog Which?. The study, which involved 12 mystery shoppers ordering the same list of 29 fresh items from six major supermarkets, found that Waitrose products lasted an average of just 7.7 days from delivery to use-by date.
Investigation details
The mystery shoppers placed orders with Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose. Which? calculated the time remaining from delivery until midnight on the use-by date for each item and averaged the results per supermarket.
Despite being the most expensive option, Waitrose performed worst for several products, including scones, bread, fresh pasta sauce, fresh tagliatelle, houmous, and pork sausages. Two packs of beef mince and one pack of chicken thighs required use within a day of delivery.
Supermarket responses
A Waitrose spokesperson said the brand was “committed to offering the freshest and highest quality products,” reflected in its growing online grocery sales. They added: “In response to increasing customer demand for products with simpler ingredients, we have removed preservatives from some of the items in this analysis where they are common, including our houmous.” The spokesperson noted that online grocery pickers are trained to choose the longest-dated products, and most online customers rated shelf life as good or excellent.
Tesco fared slightly better with an average shelf life of 8.8 days, but one shopper received fresh pasta sauce and pork sausages with only 3.4 days left. A Tesco spokesperson said the retailer works hard to “select the freshest items with the longest expiry dates” and highlighted its “Freshness Guarantee,” allowing customers to hand back unsatisfactory items for a full refund.
Asda offers longest shelf life
At the other end of the scale, Asda delivered products with the longest average shelf life. Five shoppers received beef mince with 18 days left, and a pack of cod had a week remaining. Its tomato and mascarpone pasta sauce averaged 33.6 days left, compared to 12.2 days at Waitrose, despite costing 23p less.
Which? retail editor Reena Sewraz said: “When you pay for a supermarket delivery, you expect your fresh food to have a reasonable amount of time left on it. Our investigation found a striking difference between supermarkets, with some shoppers getting several days’ less time to use their groceries than others – and in some cases, just hours.” She added: “It’s particularly hard to swallow when you’re paying premium prices but getting food with a much shorter shelf life.”
Other supermarkets compared
Sainsbury’s products lasted an average of 10.2 days, while Morrisons and Ocado tied for second place with 10.4 days. Sainsbury’s had sweetcorn and basil with a best-before date on delivery day. Ocado excelled with honey roast ham with over 20 days left, but one shopper received black and wilted basil. Morrisons delivered a substituted raspberry trifle with less than four hours until expiry, and one shopper received an opened pot of pineapple that leaked. However, Morrisons also delivered houmous with 24.38 days left, compared to the 11.54-day average elsewhere.
Which? also offered three tips to reduce food waste: inspect items on arrival, reject unsatisfactory items at the doorstep, and freeze fresh items early if they have short use-by dates.
