Food Labeling Confusion: How We Can Get on The Same Page

It's happened to all of us. We grab the carton of milk out of the fridge and notice it's past its use-by date, give it a sniff, then ultimately decide if it goes on our cereal or down the drain. We aren't totally confident in our decision, but we understand that milk is pasteurized, so we can't get sick even if it's a bit sour.?

A pack of chicken breasts that have a sell-by date and it's a couple of days past gives us more pause. Do we know what "good" chicken breasts are supposed to smell like? Unless it's green or super slimy, there's no real way to tell if harmful bacteria lie inside. So, like 69% of other consumers, we toss it. It's misinformed actions like these that helped food waste in America reach its current 40% annual food waste.

Food date labeling misinformation causes a considerable disconnect between regulatory agencies that aim to keep us safe and our perception of what is safe to eat. After all, these agencies are not worrying about many of the same things we are. Mainly, it's actually getting sick. However, many other things rush through the consumer's mind concerning a food dating label. Some of these questions are:

• "For meats and prepared foods, how do I know the food retailer is using the correct dating system?"
• "What's the difference between use-by, sell-by, best-by labels?"
• "Why do some products have retail date labels while others don't?"
• "If I buy food from a butcher or fishmonger, how do I know it's fresh, and how long do I have to use it?"

These are all fair questions, and we'll dive into some of the answers. Before that, we first must define the requirements of food labeling enacted by regulatory agencies.

Current Food Labeling Regulations

The United States Congress has the authority to regulate products sold in the country thanks to the Commerce Clause in the constitution.?

The central regulatory agencies with the US government which regulate food safety are the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Both agencies are tasked with food safety. The USDA is more specialized in consumer food safety protection. They inspect meat, poultry, and egg producers at the source through its Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). On the consumer-facing side, they created the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) guidelines.?

HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed by analyzing and controlling biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement, and handling, to manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of the finished product.

What is truly shocking is, among all these regulations, there are no standardized food date regulations in America. The exception is with infant formula. The Infant Formula Labeling Act of 1980 forced formula manufacturers to document ingredients and label infant formula with expiration dates based on strict nutritional guidelines.

The only other time the FDA or USDA step in and regulate food labels is when they provide misinformation to the customer. There have been bills, such as the most recent Food Date Labeling Act of 2019, presented to Congress but did not receive a vote. Otherwise, Congress and its regulatory agencies have left food date labeling to the discretion of food manufacturers and retailers.

3 Pitfalls of Food Labeling in America

Food Date Labeling has Nothing to Do With Food Safety

The most significant and obvious pitfall of most food date labeling is that it's in no way related to food safety. Best-by, use-by, and sell-by labels (which can be used interchangeably) refer to retailer or manufacturer suggestions on the time frame to consume the food to achieve maximum flavor and freshness. For instance, a box of cereal that's well past its expiration date, though stale, will not make you sick. Some products, mainly meats and prepared foods follow suggested guidelines on when to pull items from the shelves based on time and temperature guidelines. Still, these guidelines are not enforced.

No Standardized Guidelines

Over the years, the FDA and other advisory boards, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM), have created guidelines on food date labeling. Although these guidelines do aid in food safety best practices, the states are left to their own discretion to which ones they adopt, if any. Some states This causes mass confusion when it comes to interstate commerce and correct consumer information.

According to The Dating Game Report, of the 50 states, 41 states plus the District of Columbia require date labels on at least some food items, whereas nine states do not require them on any foods. They go on to report that states fall into one of the four categories.

1. Those that regulate the presence of date labels on certain foods but do not regulate sales after those dates.

?2. Those that do not regulate the presence of date labels but broadly regulate sales after such dates if date labels are voluntarily applied.

3. Those that regulate both the presence of date labels and, broadly, the sale of products after those dates.

4. Those that do not require or regulate date labels at all.?

The challenge of date label standardization becomes even more complex when some states, such as New York prohibit food date labeling across the board. At the same time, other state and local labeling requirements aren't on the same page. For example, in Baltimore, retailers are prohibited from selling perishable food past its expiration date, while Maryland has no regulation.

Confusion for Food Manufacturers and Retailers

No food manufacturer or retailer wants to mislead their customers, or even worse, make them ill from their food. It's awful for business. Yet how to go about labeling their products to satisfy regulations from state to state, or lack thereof is just as confusing as understanding date labels for customers.

With best intentions, food manufacturers and retailers try to get on the same page in the face of government complacency by following the guidelines of food trade organizations. Still, standards vary between those organizations as well.?

Large corporate retailers, such as Walmart, have tried to set food date labeling standards for their suppliers in the interest of their customers. However, that course of action has the potential to create more waste for products that would otherwise be sold had they not ever had a label.

Ways to Fix a Broken System

On the surface, the food date labeling system seems simple to fix. Just create a standardized approach. However, should that be the job of a government or industry? People are already wary of big government controlling every aspect of their lives. If it were left to industry, how do you create a system that food suppliers and retailers can agree on across all 50 states?

There is no simple answer, but it lies somewhere between standardization, consumer education, pushes for legislation, and incentivization for food suppliers and retailers.?

Standardization

The Dating Game Report mentioned above goes into depth about different ways to standardize food date labeling. Some of their suggestions include the following.

• Make "sell by" dates that are designed for inventory control purposes invisible to consumers.
• Establish standard, clear language for both quality-based and safety-based date labels.
• Include "freeze by" dates and freezing information where applicable.
• Remove or replace quality-based dates on nonperishable, shelf-stable products.
• Ensure date labels are clearly and predictably located on packages.
• Increase the Use of Safe Handling Instructions and "Smart Labels."

Consumer Education

The first and seemingly least expensive way to reduce food waste from food date labeling is to educate consumers on expiration dates. This can be done through public service announcements and in-store displays.

Pushes for Legislation

As mentioned earlier, the FDA and USDA are only authorized to regulate food labels that are misleading to consumers. The argument can be made (and has been made) that the lack of federal regulation and standardization among food labeling is misleading the public to waste food. It's clear that the government won't act without some strong urging. That's why it's up to food activist groups and concerned citizens to appeal to their congressional representatives to make the change.

Incentivisation for Food Suppliers and Retailers

As covered in a previous article, 4 Economic Benefits for Reducing Food Waste, good intentions never lead to actual change; it's dollar signs. One idea for the government to get food manufacturers on the same page without enforcing legislation is tax incentives for those who follow a standardized system. This standardized system could use data barcodes, which would eliminate the need for sell-by dates that are visible to the consumer.?

Assuming that the government won't step in, these same measures can be taken by food retailers. These data bars can be taken a step further and be integrated with Wwasteless’ dynamic pricing systems, reducing retail food waste by more than 50%, increasing margins by 1%-2%, and skyrocket revenues by 55% or more. With incentives like these, it's a logical first step towards solving the food date labeling problem.