In the US, much of the food that you buy in grocery stores have labels such “sell by” or “best before”. Buy those terms lack specific meaning and as a result, much perfectly edible food is thrown away because people feel that you should not eat it if the date is past. This is estimated to make up to 20% of the food waste or about 6 million tons of unexpired food is thrown away.
California has just passed a law that seeks to rectify this problem.
The state is the first to ban food labels such as “sell by” or “best before” under a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The legislation signed by Newsom over the weekend aims at reducing both food waste and the state’s climate-warming emissions.
There are more than 50 different date labels on packaged food sold in stores, but the information is largely unregulated and does not relate to food safety. “Sell by” dates, for example, often act as a guide for stores to pull products from the shelf and not as an indicator of whether the product is still safe to consume.
…The law is set to take effect in July 2026, establishing a new standard for food labeling in California. It will require the use of “Best if Used By” label to signal peak quality and “Use By” label for product safety, an approach recommended by federal agencies. The law provides exemption for eggs, beer and other malt beverages.
…Supporters hope the legislation could pave the way for new food labeling standards in the U.S., though it’s not immediately clear if the new law and the massive California market will push companies to standardize food labeling for all products in the country.
I am very reluctant to throw any food away. Once I buy it, I ignore the labels and check for myself to see if it smells bad or is discolored. If it isn’t, I will eat it. I am far more relaxed about this than the other members of my family so I ended up being the person who finishes up old food in the fridge. I also like to only buy food that I am pretty sure I will eat in the near future, thus also reducing the risk of waste.
The problem is different for grocery stores that have to deal with new stocks coming in before old stocks are sold out. The dates provide an easy way make decisions about what to throw away, even if it is not necessary.
But that has a consequence in that many homeless people depend on food from the dumpsters near grocery stores (a practice known as ‘dumpster diving’) because it gives them a source of free edible food. The new regulations seeking to reduce amount that is thrown away may reduce the amount of edible food in dumpsters but I suspect that it will still be sufficient for those seeking it.
Of course it is utterly appalling that in a rich country like the US where food is so plentiful, some people need to go dumpster diving to get food. But until we have social safety nets that take care of basic needs like food for everyone, some people will unfortunately have to resort to this.
Ridana says
More than a “best by” date, I’d rather have a production date, i.e., the date the product left the plant. Then I can get a feel for how long it’s been hanging around, and how much longer it will likely be good for. Canned goods I figure are ok unless they’re bulging or something is obviously wrong with the seal, regardless of the expiration date. Although even I’d be reluctant if they were more than 3 yrs out. I’d probably still open it and then judge.
lochaber says
When they shut things down for the pandemic here (~mid March 2020), I pretty much stayed in my apartment and went through all the old accumulated food in my pantry/freezer. Some of which had sell by/use by dates a decade old. Old cans, jars, dried beans/grains, dry pasta, flour, frozen meats, etc. Nothing terribly interesting happened.
Heidi Nemeth says
“Pathogenic bacteria cause illness. They grow rapidly in the Danger Zone-the temperatures between 40 °F (4.4 °C) and 140 °F (60 °C) and do not generally affect the taste, smell, or appearance of food. Food that is left too long at unsafe temperatures could be dangerous to eat, but smell and look just fine.” -USDA
A lot of food poisoning in the United States goes unreported. Plenty of it is caused by food prepared and consumed in the home. So a good deal of the food which is thrown out could well be dangerous to eat.
I read years ago that people differ in their sensitivity to rotten food smells. Though I may have considered some chicken “just fine”, my more sensitive children complained it was spoiled. Probably it was better if they didn’t eat it.
As for “Sell by” and “Best By” dates, I agree with Ridana @1. Please give me a production date -- in one standard format for all food (and drugs). Like 2024/10/26. One which makes it easy to sort by date.
Trickster Goddess says
I long ago discovered that eggs are just fine even months after the best before date.
John Morales says
I remember this article during the height of lockdown days:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/15/cheap-delicious-and-only-three-years-out-of-date-my-week-of-eating-food-past-its-best-before
Ridana says
I was going to post this earlier, but got sidetracked. A very helpful website for determining whether food is ok to eat is https://www.eatortoss.com. Like do those brown streaks inside avocados mean they’re bad? All the odd things about potatoes that are ugly but harmless. Etc. Very useful site with tons of info about what causes various imperfections, both harmless and not. Check it out -- I know you’ll find the answer to at least one food question you’ve always wondered about. 🙂
Mano Singham says
Thanks, Ridana! Very helpful.