Two-thirds of Brits now eat food past use-by dates to save money
Key Points
- 64% of UK households ate food past its use-by date in March 2026 to save money, per the FSA
- Use-by dates mark food safety limits, unlike best-before dates which concern quality
- Risky behaviours peaked in January 2026, reflecting Christmas cost pressures
- 21% of households stored chilled food outside the fridge in January, up from 14%
- 23% of Brits worry about affording food next month, rising to 35% in the lowest social grade
64% of UK households ate food past its use-by date in the last month to cut costs, according to the Food Standards Agency.
The figure comes from the FSA’s Consumer Insights Tracker end of year report, published on 16 July, which draws on monthly YouGov surveys of around 2,000 adults across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The regulator distinguishes between best-before dates, which concern quality, and use-by dates, which mark the point after which food may no longer be safe to eat. That makes the 64% figure a food safety issue rather than a thrift statistic, and it has held broadly steady since the FSA began tracking the behaviour in May 2025.
Eating food past its use-by date topped a list of financially motivated behaviours households reported in March 2026.
Six in ten (60%) ate leftovers kept in the fridge for more than two days, 52% cut down on the amount of food they bought, 39% reheated leftovers more than once to avoid throwing them away, and 33% turned off ovens or hobs early to finish cooking with residual heat.
Christmas pushed households further
The riskiest month was January 2026, reflecting what households did over Christmas.
Eating food past its use-by date rose to 66%, leftovers kept beyond two days hit 68%, eating food cold rather than reheating it climbed from 24% to 29%, and the share of households storing food that should be refrigerated outside the fridge jumped from 14% to 21%.
All four behaviours returned to typical levels by February.
The behaviours track wider affordability pressure. In March 2026, 23% of respondents said they worried about affording food in the next month, within the 19% to 28% range recorded since July 2023.
Concern was sharpest among households in the lowest DE social grade (35%) and people with a disability or long-term health condition (34%).
Food prices remain the public’s top food concern overall, with 91% reporting worry in March 2026, ahead of ultra-processed food and food waste in the supply chain.
