Past its Best

One of the reasons why we waste so much food as a society (50% according to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20968076) is not eating something before it goes off. Some of this waste can be prevented with proper storage, clearer labelling by food companies and maybe a bit more common sense – using your senses to check if somethings off rather than relying on the date on the packet. Although, from talking to people it would seem the biggest reason is simply forgetting or not knowing what to do with certain food item.
In light of this I’ve been coming up with a few ideas to help solve this. Some kind of container or system that would remind users when an item is due to go off is a really simple way of keeping on top of it. This could be Tupperware style boxes with count-down clocks or alarms, or a device which the user would input the food bought, the dates on that food and it could remind them when it’s going off and give recipe ideas incorporating those specific foods.