The ‘secret’ supermarket codes that could help millions save | UK | News
Lowercase letters and numbers on labels may indicate expiration dates (Image: Getty)
Millions of shoppers could be missing out on potential savings opportunities due to secret codes on supermarket labels that reveal key information about product dates and promotions. While many of us focus on loyalty deals, yellow stickers or obvious discounts, there are subtle signs on products that can help you shop smarter and stretch your money even further.
consumer group Which? He recently shared a video on social media saying: “These are the secret codes supermarkets don’t want you to know.” In recent years some supermarkets have removed visible expiry dates from pre-packaged products to reduce waste. Instead they use coded letters and numbers.
READ MORE: Supermarket’s own brand butter named best in the UK, beating Lurpack
READ MORE: Morrisons will offer free meal replacements in all cafes until Friday
By learning to read these codes, shoppers can time their purchases more effectively (Image: Getty)
In the last video, Which? spokesperson explains how to resolve best before dates at some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets.
At Asda and Tesco, codes usually consist of a letter and a number. Letters A to L indicate the months of the year, and numbers indicate the day. For example, a bag of potatoes marked ‘B12’ is best purchased before February 12.
Sainsbury’s uses a different approach. Codes begin and end with J and S, which represent the retailer’s name. Therefore, what you need to look at are the numbers in the middle. The numbers in the middle indicate the day and month, so a code like J0910S indicates the product is best before October 9th.
Marks & Spencer also relies on a combination of letters and numbers to indicate dates. Morrisons’ date system is pretty simple because they just use the letter of the month followed by the date. A pack of leeks shown in the video is labeled “F10”, meaning February 10.
Aldi’s system is a little more complex; It uses four numbers, the first two representing the week of the year and the last two representing the day within that week. Which one? explains in the video. The consumer group recommends comparing products side by side when choosing, noting that the product on top is more likely to have an extra day of shelf life.
*** Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us your Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings. ***
Promotional deals at supermarkets also carry hidden clues that can help shoppers plan their purchases. At Tesco, for example, small strings of numbers printed in the fine print of shelf labels indicate when an offer will end. Since these numbers are usually written backwards, a code like 260225 indicates that the deal will expire on February 25.
Sainsbury’s uses a slightly different approach. Instead of showing the end date, the fine print indicates when the promotion starts. Shoppers can then estimate how long the offer will last; this is usually around two weeks and most deals end on Tuesday.
Aldi also has a system for items that are about to go out of stock. Products that are about to be discontinued usually have a capital letter D in the corner of the price tag. Sky News reported.
What? retail editor Reena Sewraz also told Money: “Supermarket shopping is already a juggling act of budgets, unit prices and loyalty plans, making the task of deciphering the ‘secret shelf codes’ that reveal a deal’s true expiration date feel like an unnecessary exercise.
“However, by knowing when a promotion expires, customers can save money if they strategically know when to stock up or stock up, eliminating the pressure to panic-buy an item they don’t need yet.”
