Agencies aim to provide further clarity and transparency for shoppers and reduce food waste.
December 3, 2024
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a joint Request for Information (RFI) about food date labeling, which includes the usage of terms such as “Sell By,” “Use By” and “Best By.” The RFI seeks information on industry practices and preferences for date labeling, research results on consumer perceptions of date labeling and any impact date labeling may have on food waste and grocery costs.
For example, questions in the RFI include which products contain date labels and what criteria are used to decided which phrase to use and what date to include. The RFI also asks questions about how consumers interpret date label information, including whether people are confused by this information – especially if they believe the dates determine whether food is safe, when in fact the labels indicate quality – or whether it has impacts on decisions made while grocery shopping or discarding food. Finally, there are questions that explore any relationship between date labels, food waste and household expenses, the agencies said in their announcement.
USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) and FDA jointly have broad jurisdiction and oversight over the U.S. food supply, with responsibility for ensuring that food labels on products over which they each have jurisdiction are truthful and not misleading. The information collected from the RFI may be used to inform future policy decisions, guidance or consumer education campaigns on food date labels intended to help reduce the premature discard of wholesome and safe food, the agencies explained.
“It has been estimated that confusion over the multitude of different date labeling terms on food products accounts for about 20% of food waste in the home. The information collected will help us understand consumers’ perception of terms like ‘Sell By,’ ‘Use By’ and ‘Best By,’” said FDA deputy commissioner for human foods Jim Jones. “We are looking forward to gathering valuable information to determine how date labeling can make it easier for consumers to know whether a food is still good to eat and avoid food waste. The FDA is committed to doing all that we can to support informed and sound decisions that are good for U.S. consumers.”
USDA undersecretary for food safety Dr. Emilio Esteban added, “Food labels contain a wealth of information for consumers, including a food product’s ‘best if used by’ date. Through this Request for Information, we hope to learn more about how those date labels are determined and whether they confuse consumers and lead to needless food waste.”
The announcement said this latest RFI is one of many actions to be taken in response to the National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss & Waste & Recycling Organics, which was released by FDA, USDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in June 2024.
USDA estimates that the average family of four spends at least $1,500 each year on food that ends up uneaten, and EPA estimates that 66 million tons of wasted food was generated in 2019 in the food retail, foodservice and residential sectors, most of which (about 60%) was sent to landfills.
The National Strategy lays out a path that would enable the U.S. to meet a national goal of reducing food loss and waste 50% by 2030, helping to reduce the environmental impact of food waste and to lower costs for American families. It has four main objectives:
Prevent food loss.
Prevent food waste.
Increase the recycling rate for all organic waste.
Support policies that incentivize and encourage food loss and waste prevention and organics recycling.
In response to the draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss & Waste & Recycling Organics, FDA and USDA received more than 9,800 comments encouraging an update of the federal date labeling requirements, including standardizing date labeling.
Commenters on the draft strategy noted that food manufacturers use a variety of phrases such as “Sell By,” “Use By” and “Best By” on product labels to describe dates on a voluntary basis, and this use of different phrases to describe dates may cause consumer confusion and lead to the premature disposal of wholesome and safe food because it is past the date printed on the package. The RFI attempts to explore the issues raised in those comments by asking stakeholders for information they have relevant to this topic.
Both FDA and USDA said they currently recommend that food industry members voluntarily apply the “Best if Used By” quality-based food date label, which notes the date after which quality may decline but the product may still be consumed. The agencies noted, however, that current federal regulations do not prohibit industry from using other date labeling phrases, such as “Sell By” or “Use By,” if they are truthful and not misleading.
Commenters will have 60 days to provide comments responsive to one or more of the 13 questions posed, the Dec. 3 announcement said. Further information on how to submit a comment can be found in the Federal Register.
You May Also Like
Enter a zip code to see the weather conditions for a different location.
