PEOPLE are only just realising the meaning behind Tesco’s ‘secret code’ on fruit and veg – and their minds are blown.
So if you get your groceries from Tesco and want to cut down on food waste, you’ve come to the right place and will need to listen up.
You may or may not have noticed that in 2023, a number of supermarkets removed the use and sell by dates on fresh produce in a widespread effort to reduce food waste.
Whilst there are now no dates on packaged fruit and veg, Tesco has a ‘secret code’ on such produce, which allows staff to rotate stock.
One Tesco shopper took to social media to share her discovery of the ‘secret code’, which left her ‘mind blown’.
Jess, a savvy mum from the UK, gave her followers a close-up look at a bag of Maris Piper potatoes and a cucumber, which she bought from her local Tesco.
Pointing to the labels, which read A11 and A12, Jess questioned: “Did anyone else not know this or am I just late to the party?”
She said: “I just thought that veg didn’t have sell by dates, I just go off how it feels and what it looks like.
“But this is the sell by date. So the letter is the month and then the number is obviously the date.”
Jess then explained that her potatoes, which had A12 on the label, have a sell by date of January 12th.
And it turns out that Jess has indeed cracked the code – as the letter on the packaging correlates to the month of the year, whilst the number is the day.
She added: “So this is January. If it was B it would be February, C it would be March.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”SAVE HUNDREDS AT TESCO” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6350566253112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Clearly stunned, she acknowledged: “It’s blown my mind.”
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @jesss22x, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up 149,000 views in just two days.
Social media users flocked to the comments, equally as baffled by the ‘secret code’ as Jess.
One person said: “I’m 53 and didn’t know that!!”
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D102674%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /] [quote credit=”TikTok user”]Well I’ve learnt something new today thanks[/quote]Another added: “I always wondered what the letters meant, you’re not alone love!”
A third commented: “Omg I didn’t know this.”
Whilst someone else penned: “Well I’ve learnt something new today thanks.”
However, at the same time, one user claimed: “I didn’t, but I assume it’s deliberate to reduce food wastage.”
Whilst another admitted: “I work retail so I did. It was a less waste movement.”
Not all supermarkets follow the same code, but one Tesco employee shared: “Coming from someone that works with produce in Tesco head office, it’s a date code so yes technically correct.”