A green way to save big money on food bills is to buy products that are close to or past their “best-before” date. According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), these dates are used on longer-lasting foods, such as dried or canned items. The FSA says: “It should be safe to eat food after the ‘best before’ date, but it will no longer be at its best and the food might begin to lose its flavour and texture.”

Eggs are an exception, and should not be eaten after their best-before date because of the risk of salmonella.

You can buy food close to or past its best-before date online at Approved Food, approvedfood.co.uk, a Yorkshire family business, which has had a 500 per cent increase in sales in the past year. It offers 1,000-plus product lines and delivers in two to three working days. Categories include tinned food, soft drinks, sweets, biscuits and crisps.

Deals at the time of writing included 18 bags of McCoy’s crisps, best before today, £1.80 (rrp £3.59); a 400g bag of Barratt Dolly Mix best before November 30, 99p (rrp £1.99) and 40 Ministry of Defence (MoD) tea bags with no best before date, 40p. Boxes of 32 bags of Walker’s crisps, £1.50, and 12 tubs of Pringles, £1, were out of stock.

Delivery charges start at £5.25 for packages of up to 28kg, which means that the retailer offers best value for larger families and house-shares, and people with ample storage space.

Food Bargains, foodbargains.co.uk, is an alternative provider, with slightly cheaper delivery; £4.99 for up to 30kg (free within the Leeds area). Deals at the time of writing included 15 packs of MoD boiled sweets, best before February 4 last year, £1, and 200g tins of Heinz baked beans, best before this June, 18p (rrp 62p).

Unlike best-before dates, “use-by” dates are applied to foods that go off quickly, such as milk, soft cheeses and prepared salads. You should not eat anything past its use-by date as there is a real risk of food poisoning. Nevertheless, retailers often sell items at a significant discount on the day or so before their “use-by”, during which they remain safe. Qualifying products tend to be clearly marked.

For general information, visit the website of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, lovefoodhatewaste.com. Features include a meal planner, with shopping lists and recipes and a list of “five sure ways to save £50 on food a month”.

Some people go to extremes and become “freegans”, minimising spending on food by sourcing discarded items in supermarket bins. This can yield quality products within best before and use-by dates. The website Freegan.org.uk has information, including advice on the legal and safety aspects. Meanwhile, Frugal.org.uk has tips on using wild foods, such as nettles.