When it comes to doing the food shop, we all love to bag a bargain.
But you don’t just have to look for yellow stickers and loyalty prices to check if you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Hidden on supermarket shelves are different codes that can help you work out details to help you save.
For more information about how we use your data and your rights, you can visit our Privacy Centre.
From freshness indicators to the date when a promotion will end, taking a closer look can reveal all sorts of information.
Here we run through a few that you can look for the next time you pop to the shop…
Make sure you get the fruit and veg that will last the longest
This was easy until a few years ago – look at the best-before date on the packet.
But big supermarket chains have started removing these dates from pre-packaged fruit and vegetables in an attempt to reduce waste.
Many have started using different codes to indicate when they are “best before”.
At Asda and Tesco, Which? says the code will start with a letter that represents a month, so A for January, B for February, C for March and so on. Next, there will be a number – this will represent the day of the month.
So if the code was B27, the best before date would be 27 February.
At Sainsbury’s, the code works slightly differently.
It starts with J and ends with S, which stands for the company name (J Sainsbury). The date will be in the middle.
So the best before date of an item with the code J0910S is 9 October.
Morrisons simply uses the first letter of the month and a number, so a product with the code S12 has a best-before date of 12 September.
“Bear in mind that food is usually perfectly edible after its best before or sell by date – it should be fine to eat if it looks and smells okay,” says the consumer group.
“However, food with a use by date, such as pre-cut fruit, must be eaten by midnight of its expiry date, or it could be unsafe.”
How to know when to grab a Clubcard deal
Pouncing on a Clubcard deal in Tesco can be tempting, but you might have longer to get it than you think.
Another hidden code will tell you exactly when the deal ends.
If you check the small print on the shelf label, a sequence of numbers will tell you the end date.
It will be written backwards, so if it says 260225, the offer will end on 25 February.
We asked Tesco about this but we didn’t hear back.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
How to check Nectar prices
In Sainsbury’s, the codes work slightly differently.
The date the promotion started, rather than the date it will end, is in the label’s small print, but this will give you a clue as to how long it will be around for.
Which? says offers usually run for a fortnight and end on Tuesdays.
It’s important to remember that loyalty deals often end and come back again, so it’s best to buy the item if you were already planning to.
We asked Sainsbury’s about the codes, but the supermarket didn’t want to comment.
Read more from Money:
The problem with honey – what you should look for
How to pick out a good steak
‘I’m a sommelier – here’s my supermarket tip’
A product that’s about to be discontinued
Aldi’s middle aisle is known for its stack of deals – and with a fairly quick turnaround of products, you might feel like you have to act fast to grab something before it’s gone.
You will be able to tell if a product is about to be discontinued by looking for a capital letter D in the right-hand corner of the price tag.
Jordan Cox, better known as The Coupon King, has spoken about this previously: “Once those items are sold out, they won’t be stocked – so pick it up if it’s something you want. It ain’t coming back.”
Learn the codes, avoid panic buys
Reena Sewraz, retail editor at Which?, told Money: “Supermarket shopping is already a juggling act of budgets, unit prices, and loyalty schemes, making the task of deciphering ‘secret shelf codes’- which show a deal’s true end date – feel like unnecessary effort.
“However, shoppers who know when a promotion expires can make savings if they know when to stock up strategically or hold off – removing the pressure to panic-buy an item they might not need yet.”
