The U.S. Department of Agriculture took action last week with a goal of making expiration date labeling on eggs, meat and dairy products less confusing, and eliminate a key cause of consumer food waste in the U.S.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service provided guidance that encourages manufacturers and retailers of these products to use one universal “Best if Used By” date label on their products, to avoid the confusion caused by the roughly 50 different versions of labels currently being used nationwide.
The USDA clarified that the dates on food are designed “to help consumers and retailers decide when food is of best quality. Except for infant formula, dates are not an indicator of the product’s safety and are not required by federal law.”
According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, there are no federal rules that set standard ways to date food labels, with the exception of infant formula. State and local rules vary and, in most instances, industry practice has been to print dates based on the manufacturers’ suggestions for when food is likely to be at its freshest or peak quality.
