Food date labels are confusing. Many consumers look at a container of food, see that the date on the package has passed, and decide to trash it rather than risk getting sick. However, food safety is not what so-called “expiration dates” are usually conveying. Some dates are “sell-by” dates meant to help grocery stores with stock rotation and the food item may still have several weeks of viability in the home before signs of aging appear. Most of the other dates on food (such as “best by” dates) are intended to be an indicator of peak quality or freshness. But currently, consumers cannot tell which dates indicate an increased safety risk with the passage of time just by the phrase listed. California is aiming to change that by 2026 with the passage of AB 660 by Assembly Member Irwin. The legislature sent this bill to Governor Newsom’s desk on August 31 and he now has until September 30 to act.
Food date labels are not federally regulated, except for those on infant formula, to ensure nutritional quality. Until now, American consumers have been left to guess at what information is intended by the date on the package. More than 80 percent of Americans report tossing food because it is past date. Confusion over the date is responsible for 20 percent of the wasted food in our homes. In California, this accounts for a conservative estimate of 600,000 tons of food going to landfills, generating over 300,000 MTCO2e of climate emissions, when instead that food could have ended up on the table.
In California, the 2017 law AB 954 (Chiu) aimed to address this problem by directing the state Department of Food and Agriculture to promote unified standards on food date labels. A “BEST if Used by” phrase next to the date would signify the date after which the food’s quality may begin to deteriorate while a “USE by” date would signify the safety date after which there is a higher level of risk in consuming the food. However, the standards were voluntary and unless there is complete adoption, households cannot tell whether their food product is complying with the recommended use of the date label phrases or not. The new law will require that all food date labels use these standardized phrases and will eliminate confusing “sell by” dates that are intended for retailers rather than consumers. The law expressly allows for the sale, donation, or use of food after the quality date.
Eight million Californians face food insecurity, despite an ample food supply. Food packaging dates are a challenge for food banks and pantries that help ensure our seniors, families, and those in need of emergency food assistance have enough to eat. People who receive food from pantries may be reluctant to take items that are near or past date, because they believe the item is unsafe after that date. The need for food assistance in California—and nationally —is immense. Food insecurity is detrimental to physical and mental health with outcomes including diabetes, hypertension, and behavioral challenges in children. These negative ramifications should make any attempt to improve food security a priority for public health.
The racial equity concerns surrounding food labeling are clear. People who live in areas of food inequity or food apartheid regions—largely Indigenous, Black, Latine and rural communities—and those who depend on the emergency food system are often purchasing or receiving food closer to the date on the label. As a result, these communities are more often plagued with the question as to whether or not to toss food past the labeled date. Because a larger percentage of household budgets in these communities is spent on food the consequences of tossing that food make a bigger dent in their household finances.
Standardizing date labels is projected to have a net financial benefit of almost $350 million to Californians. Most of the savings would go directly to consumers, but some would also benefit manufacturers and retailers as they are able to better manage products on their shelves; Kroger and Walmart have already implemented the standards on their private brand labels, but that only covers a small number of the items on their shelves. In fact, consumer packaged goods industry groups pledged to move toward a simplified two-phrase system in 2017 with complete compliance anticipated by 2020. And yet there are still a confusing number of date labels on our food with difficult-to-decipher meanings.
Ensuring that everyone can understand when food is still good to eat will help alleviate pressure to toss food that could have nourished instead. Defining a standard for consumer-facing labels provides clarity on when food actually poses a safety risk and reduces the likelihood of discarding good food.
While the U.S. Congress faces partisan gridlock that prevents federal action, Americans will rely on their state leaders to address these important kitchen table issues. This state-level approach inevitably creates a patchwork of differing laws that add additional complications for businesses, but California’s market share may help move more of the food industry into compliance in other states that do not expressly require a different set of food date labels on products. And we may see more states move toward fixing their date labeling laws at the behest of food manufacturers and retailers. The Zero Food Waste Coalition, of which NRDC is a founding member, compiled a model policy toolkit to aid state policy makers in developing impactful policies that improve waste prevention, increase redistribution of surplus food, and advance organics recycling opportunities. The toolkit gives examples of successful laws across the country, their connection to federal law, and a description of what makes each law effective at achieving its goals whether it be reducing confusion about food date labeling, reducing K-12 school food waste, or mandating recycling of organic waste.
Assembly Member Irwin has shown great leadership on addressing food waste, while Californians Against Waste has provided strategic vision and unrelenting commitment to moving the state toward waste-free solutions. NRDC and our partners look forward to Governor Newsom taking the final step to sign AB 660 into law as soon as possible.
