- substr: documentation ( source)
- strpos: documentation ( source)
<?php
$utf8string = '–';
$var = 'http://www.dekadrive.nl/wormerveer-1521ap/assortiment/aardappelen--groente--fruit-fruit-–-kant-en-klaar-1.aspx';
$pos = strpos($utf8string, $var);
if ($pos!==false) {
echo substr($utf8string, 0, $pos);
}