(Last Updated 03/05/2021)
Date Labeling Policy Issues
The date labels on food packaging accompanied by phrases such as “use by,” “best before,” “sell by,” “enjoy by” and “expires on” are generally intended to communicate food quality, not food safety. Nevertheless, date labels exert a powerful influence on consumers and food vendors. Under federal law, date labels are almost entirely unregulated. States have filled the void with a wide variety of regulations that often fail to reflect the distinction between food safety and food quality.
This tool explores the date label regulation patterns across the country. The extreme variations demonstrate how our current system creates confusion for consumers while not necessarily improving food safety, ultimately resulting in significant waste of wholesome food.
ReFED found that standardizing date labels nationally was the most cost-effective solution to this country’s food waste problem. The fairly simple solution has the potential to divert 398,000 tons of food waste per year and provide $1.8 billion in annual economic value.
Explore Food Waste Policy by State
U.S. Food Waste Policy Tool
Use this tool to research current food waste policy at the federal and state levels and to discover best practices and recommendations for policy improvements that will support more food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling.
Learn More >About This Tool
ReFED and the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic collaborated to develop the Food Waste Policy Finder, with state date labeling information provided by the Natural Resources Defense Council and animal feed policy information provided by the University of Arkansas School of Law.
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