FDA to Food Industry: Stop Waste by Fixing Your Date Labels

by | May 24, 2019

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FDA to Food Industry: Stop Waste by Fixing Your Date Labels

The US Food and Drug Administration’s deputy commissioner of food policy and response sent a letter to the food industry urging better date labels. Consumer confusion over date labeling accounts for about 20% of food waste in the country, the FDA letter said.

Packaged foods manufacturers voluntarily use a wide variety of phrases on product date labels, deputy commissioner Frank Yiannas explained. They include “Best If Used By,” “Use By,” and “Sell By,” to show when food may be at its best quality.

Phrasing matters, though. “The FDA has found that food waste by consumers may often result from fears about food safety caused by misunderstanding what the introductory phrases on product date labels mean, along with uncertainty about storage of perishable foods,” Yiannas wrote.

Every year Americans toss about 30% of their food, which equals approximately 133 billion pounds worth $161 billion, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service.

Yiannas’ letter references consumer research that led the USDA to encourage food manufacturers and retailers in 2016 to use the “Best If Used By” introductory phrase, conveying that the product will be of best quality if used by the calendar date shown.

In 2017, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and Food Marketing Institute (FMI) convened a group of 25 consumer packaged goods and grocery retail companies to simplify and streamline product date labels. The group made two recommendations, Yiannas noted:

  • “Best If Used By” to indicate that the product may not taste or perform as expected after a specified date, but is safe to be used or consumed.
  • “Use By” for perishable products that should be consumed by the date on the package and discarded after that date.”

“Consumer research has found that the ‘Best If Used By’ introductory phrase communicates to consumers the date by with the product will be of optimal quality,” Yiannas’ letter says. However, the FDA isn’t addressing the “Use by” label right now for safety reasons.

Last year the FDA, USDA, and EPA signed a joint agency agreement to launch a new partnership aimed at enhancing food recovery efforts and educating the public about the need for improved food waste management. The federal government’s goal, established in September 2015, is to reduce food loss and waste by 50% by 2030.

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