New sell-by date policy to take place

For 40 years, the grocery store industry has been using multiple sell by date labels on food.

However, the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Assn. have revealed a new strategy that is set to take place. Instead of choosing from 10 different sell by date labels, there will only be two choices: “Use by” and “Best if Used By.”

These two labels will give people a better idea of when food is good by and prevent an astronomical amount of waste.

A survey found that 91% of people have thrown away ‘past-date’ food, even though it was still perfectly edible. The amount of unnecessary waste causes Americans to lose money and also overcrowd landfills.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Americans waste $218 billion of food each year, but can save $1.8 billion with clarified date labels.

“Use by” is simply a ‘safety designation’ regarding the expiration of perishable foods while “Best if Used By” is a guess of when a product should be consumed for best flavor.

Although the regulation is completely voluntary, big name stores like Wal-Mart have voiced their excitement. Manufacturers that decide to take on the food packaging label regulation have until July 2018 to put it into place.

See the full story on the LATIMES.COM


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