Rema 1000 Date Sales Spark Controversy – Advocates React

The vast majority of us take a look at the date counter when we are in the store.

Here you can find items that expire soon, or on the same day, at a reduced price. If you are early, and lucky, you can save many kroner on today’s dinner.

But would you buy an expensive item at 30 percent off that expires on the same day?

No, says Maria Sørflaten, who believes that date goods should be at least half price.

– No, I think it should at least be 50 per cent. Otherwise, there will be food waste, and it costs anyway. No, that’s not good enough.

Already failing on food waste claims

The item being reacted to is a steak and a package of eggs at Rema 1000 at Bertnes in Bodø.

Both items expire on the same day, but are only reduced by 30 percent.

Several people on the streets of Bodø believe that they should at least have been sold at half price.

The environmental organization Framtiden i våre hände has been involved in the process of a new food waste law which is scheduled to come into force in 2026.

Political adviser Embla Husby Jørgensen believes that the signal Rema 1000 sends is a step in the wrong direction.

– We must halve food waste by 2030, and are already behind schedule. This requires all parts of the food industry to do their part. Red meat is one of the products with the highest climate footprint, especially that which is imported from abroad. Then it is extra important that this is actually eaten.

– So a 30 percent discount on this item is not good enough, don’t you think?

– When it has a use-by date on the same day, it doesn’t last very long. Rema should certainly have gone further here, and on such goods you should be entitled to a certain discount.

Especially since the product has a use-by date, and not a best-before label, it should be priced lower to give people an incentive to buy, Jørgensen believes.

– It is a big expense to take on impulsively, and it demands that you be flexible. We know that many consumers have a busy everyday life, and stronger measures should then be used.

Consumer influences: – Too bad!

And it is not just the percentage that is worrying, but also that the item only arrives at the date counter when it is on the last date for eating.

– In general, we think the industry is too poor to do this in a predictable way. If you postpone the pricing, we are afraid that the waste will just be pushed away on us consumers, instead of it being eaten, concludes Jørgensen.

Over time, Kornelia Minsaas has built up a large following on social media, where she talks about and tests tips for saving money.

Among other things, there is a lot of talk about haggling in shops and buying date goods. She is not happy with Rema’s move in this caset.

– It’s too bad. The product must be eaten, fried or frozen the same day, otherwise it can be dangerous to eat. Then the consumer should be rewarded with a good discount to save the food.

Minsaas says that she thinks the date counters in the shops vary too much, and that she wants the opportunity to haggle on goods that should obviously have been sold cheaper.

– Kiwi, Coop Extra and Rema, who has the best system for food rescue?

– Kiwi has kudos for a fixed, good discount. It is more predictable for food savers who shop to avoid waste. Coop gets a high five for the best discount. But the variations between the stores are large – therefore the system should be more flexible, so that employees can lower prices based on their discretion, and customers are motivated to save waste.

Minsaas has made a list of tips for finding date disk gold:

Can vary from 20 to 70 percent

NRK has asked Rema 1000 more questions by e-mail, you can read them here:

You can read the answer from the regional director in Northern Norway, Thomas Brede Johansen, in its entirety here:

– Rema 1000 has worked to reduce food waste since its establishment, and since 2015 we have reduced food waste in our own operations by 40 per cent. In practice, this is about good ordering and rolling routines in the store, continuous improvement of the ordering systems, systematic price reduction of goods with a short shelf life and donation of surplus food. We also helped establish the Food Centre, and in 2024 we contributed through this collaboration to around 2 million meals. In the same year, 23.5 million items were saved through price reductions in our stores.

They also add that price cutsetting on goods varies from 20 to 70 per cent, and is assessed by the individual merchant, based on local conditions, demand and stock.

The Consumer Council: – Could have stretched further

And that’s exactly what the Consumer Council agrees with. Aysha Grönberg, specialist for food at the Consumer Council, says that the price should have been both lower and reduced earlier.

– The store should lower the price earlier. Then we also know that price has a lot to say about what we choose to buy in store. They know that very well. Here I would say that Rema could well have stretched further.

She says that if the piece of meat is left and not sold because it is too expensive, it contributes to more food waste.

– So if 30 per cent is somewhere where the consumer doesn’t think it’s worth it, it will of course be mispricing. The whole point of the price reduction must be that it actually has an effect.

Kiwi: – 50 per cent on everything

Kristine Aakvaag Arvin, communications manager at Kiwi, says that the grocery chain aimed to halve its food waste as early as 2025, and that they achieved a 65 percent reduction.

Their next target is 85 percent by 2030.

– What is the maximum and minimum percentage that items have in Kiwi’s date counter?

– We have a fixed 50 per cent on all fresh and dry goods, as well as yesterday’s bread and bakery goods. We sell fruit and vegetables that are starting to get a little limp, but are still good, for NOK 9 per kilo. We try to reduce the price in good time, in order to sell the goods and have as little food waste as possible.

Here you can read the entire response to Kiwi:

Coop replies via senior communications advisor, Knut Lutnæs, that they have two solutions that they believe work well to combat food waste.

– “Matrredder’n 40%” which is used on all goods up to the expiry date and “Best before – 70%” – which is used to reduce the price of goods after the best before date.

The last category was launched two years ago, and Lutnæs says they see it as a good tool to reduce food waste and to raise awareness of durability.

– Is it “allowed” to haggle on the price for customers in the store if they have good arguments, or are the prices set centrally?

– Discounted goods are popular, and our experience is that customers are well acquainted with our solutions and relate to them.