{"id":57597,"date":"2025-08-10T19:17:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T19:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/57597\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T19:17:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T19:17:10","slug":"savvy-shopper-shares-the-secret-meanings-behind-supermarket-codes-that-reveal-the-freshest-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/57597\/","title":{"rendered":"Savvy shopper shares the ‘secret’ meanings behind supermarket codes that reveal the freshest foods"},"content":{"rendered":"

A TikTokker has revealed a little-known trick for deciphering supermarkets codes so you can find the freshest fruit and vegetables.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UK-based content creator Grace Forell shared the shopping tip in a video<\/a> on the platform, where she is known as The Sustainable Spender.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As far back as 2018, some supermarkets in the UK started to ditch ‘best before’ labels on produce.<\/p>\n

This is because research has shown that perfectly good food is often thrown away if it has passed the best buy date.<\/p>\n

However, it is generally fine to eat things that are passed their best buy date, which is about quality and not freshness.<\/p>\n

And so major retailers started to get rid of the dates in an effort to save food from being wasted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, according to Grace, there is still a way to check for the freshest fruit and veggies when shopping, as items with no best buy date will have a supermarket code on the label instead.<\/p>\n

Her TikTok clip, which featured still images of the various pieces of produce in a slide show, showed where to find the codes, what they look like – and what they mean.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"UK-based <\/p>\n

UK-based content creator Grace Forell (pictured)\u00a0has revealed a little-known trick for deciphering supermarkets codes so you can find the freshest fruit and vegetables<\/p>\n

Using photos with text superimposed on top, the content creator unveiled the secret meaning behind several supermarkets’ codes.<\/p>\n

The first image of the slide show featured the content creator holding a basket of fruit and veggies.<\/p>\n

Text superimposed over the picture said: ‘These ‘secret’ supermarket codes will change the way you shop.’<\/p>\n

She added: ‘Supermarkets have gotten rid of many best before dates from their fruit & vegetables.’<\/p>\n

However, the video noted, they do have internal codes which contain information about the date. An image of a cucumber from Tesco showed a code which said: ‘H09.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Grace: ‘H stands for the month of August. (Because A is for January, B for February, etc).\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘The number is the date in this case the 9th of August,’ she explained.<\/p>\n

Grace, who helps others shop sustainably, explained that ‘the later the date, the fresher the produce’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"According <\/p>\n

According to Grace, different supermarkets use their own different codes to mark dates on their produce<\/p>\n

Asda shoppers should note that the store uses the same system as Tesco when it comes to labelling the items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When it comes to Sainsbury’s, all the codes are book ended with J and S, so shoppers should ignore those letters, and just look at the numbers in-between.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The video continued: ‘At Sainsbury’s, the date is written as DDMM.\u00a0So these peppers [labelled J1008S) are the 10th of August.’<\/p>\n

Meanwhile,\u00a0Morrisons uses the real first letter of the month.<\/p>\n

S A is for August, September would be S, October would be O and so on. Therefore, an A label on some clementines which reads ‘A9’ translates to August 9.<\/p>\n

Grace concluded: ‘Save this for the next time you go shopping. And share to help your friends pick the choicest produce!<\/p>\n

‘AND ONE LAST THING: Don’t throw away food just because it’s gone past one of these dates.’<\/p>\n

She concluded: ‘These are about freshness and quality, NOT food safety (like use by dates).’<\/p>\n

It comes after a\u00a0woman uncovered a game-changing hack on Shein <\/a>that could save shoppers weeks of waiting for their next summer order.<\/p>\n

Natalie Southern, from the UK, took to TikTok to spill the tea on her latest discovery, and one said she ‘saved their life’.<\/p>\n

The content creator revealed the little-known secret behind Shein’s quickship feature, calling it a ‘life hack for the girlies.’<\/p>\n

Taking to her TikTok, Natalie claimed that she found the ‘Shein secret of the century’, in the now viral clip, which racked up over 197,000 views.<\/p>\n

She said: ‘Please tell me I’m not the only one who had just released this on Shein – quickship, who knew that if you wanted your goods from Shein there was a section where you could order from quickship.’<\/p>\n

Explaining the feature, she added: ‘Your goods come in a number of days rather than a number of weeks.’<\/p>\n

Shocked by her discovery the content creator, who has over 3,000 followers, added: ‘I didn’t.’<\/p>\n

According to Natalie, the trick lies in the search bar under the quickship option, which only shows items that are ready to ship from local warehouses.<\/p>\n

The best part of the feature is that it ensures items are delivered to the customer’s door in as little as three to five working days.<\/p>\n

Shoppers will find a variety of items available under quickship, including clearance deals, with clothes that have been reduced by up to 70 percent.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of fellow Shein fans flooded the comment section and thanked Natalie for the tip, with some admitting they’d been put off by long delivery times in the past.<\/p>\n

One person said: ‘I didn’t know this!’ To which Natalie replied: ‘Me either Stephanie!’<\/p>\n

Another added: ‘You have saved my life.’ Someone else said: ‘Literally about to make an order! Thank you. I had no clue this was a thing.’<\/p>\n

A fourth added: ‘I wasn’t aware of this feature. However, once you press complete it gives you an option ‘quick ship\/ urgent ship’.’<\/p>\n

Someone else claimed: ‘It’s when someone in the country has ordered it and returned it. Instead of sending [it] back to China or wherever, they keep it in the UK for someone else.’<\/p>\n