ALDI has announced a major change affecting its own brand products.

The supermarket has announced plans to remove the best before dates on around 60 of its own brand products as part of plans to tackle food waste.

The nationwide ban follows similar initiatives from Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons and Asda.

Britain’s fifth-largest grocer will remove best before dates from around 60 fresh fruit and veg lines, including apples and pears, citrus fruits, potatoes, carrots and onions by the end of the year. It his hoped the move will help households cut back on food waste.

It forms part of Aldi’s commitment to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025 and halve it by 2030.

Liz Fox, corporate responsibility director at Aldi UK, said: “One of the reasons we are the UK’s cheapest supermarket is because we cut down on waste wherever we see it. And by getting rid of these dates on packaging, we can help customers get even better value by reducing the amount of food that goes to waste at home.

“This latest step, together with our partnerships with Neighbourly and Too Good To Go, is all part of our efforts to provide affordable, sustainable and responsible products for all our customers.”