Open your pantry and pick up the first few items you see. Whether it’s dried pasta, salt, or a can of tuna fish, you’ll notice a date label, and chances are, they’re all different. “Freshest by,” “Enjoy by,” “Expires on,” “Use by”—the sheer diversity of date labels makes it difficult for consumers to understand what they mean. “The problem is, the dates are there and that means consumers, retailers, and sometimes regulators are using them to determine whether food should be consumed, sold, donated, or discarded—even when the date is not indicating whether food is safe to eat,” explains Heather Latino, clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic. And that is most of the time, as the vast majority of dates on food are indicating when it’s at its top quality or freshness, and have nothing to do with safety.

Stakeholders across the food industry agree that standardization of food date labels would help consumers better understand what they actually mean, and help make a dent in the three billion pounds of food that goes unsold or uneaten each year as a result of date label concerns (at a cost of $7 billion). Regulators and food businesses have coalesced around the use of two phrases for food date labels: “BEST If Used By” to indicate peak quality, and “USE By” to communicate the date after which there is an increased safety risk if food is consumed.

Voluntary efforts have been made to encourage the use of these two phrases, but new research has shown that consumer confusion has gotten worse, not better, since those standards were enacted. “Voluntary standards are a great start and some major businesses have adopted them, but they have not on their own improved how people use or interpret date labels; however, policy can get people on the same page,” notes Latino. With renewed attention on food date label policy since the FDA and USDA issued a request for information on food date labels last year, ReFED caught up with Latino to discuss the elements that make food date label policy effective.

State vs. Federal Policy to Standardize Food Date Labels

Both state and federal lawmakers have introduced legislation to standardize food date labels in recent years, but only laws at the state level have passed. The latest federal attempt, the Food Date Labeling Act of 2023, was introduced in the 118th Congress (2023-2024) and progressed to Committee before stalling. While state policy can move the needle, “federal policy is the best solution,” explains Latino. “In the absence of federal policy, more than 40 states have enacted their own laws that deal in some way with food date labels, and there’s huge variation.” That variation “perpetuates the confusing system and makes it hard for people to understand and for entities to comply,” she adds.

California’s landmark legislation AB 660, which passed in 2024, will standardize food date labels to the two phrases recommended by regulators and industry: “BEST if Used By” and “USE By.” In addition, the law prohibits the use of consumer-facing “sell by” dates, which are really meant as a communication between manufacturers and stores but are often misinterpreted to be a date for consumers to follow. “States like California can move the needle, creating a lot of pressure for food businesses that operate across state lines to comply with the law as best practice,” notes Latino. “Also, California’s legislation has inspired a lot of other states to pursue similar measures. Bills addressing food date labeling have been introduced in nine states this year.”

These states include New Jersey, New York, and South Carolina. In New York, a previous bill that was first introduced in 2019 was not as strong as California’s, but after AB 660 was passed and advocates engaged in the process, a new, stronger bill was introduced. Despite California’s model serving as inspiration, there is still variation state-to-state, underscoring the need for legislation at the federal level. “Massachusetts is one that stands out,” says Latino. “Their legislation uses the phrase, ‘Expires on,’ which is not aligned with industry standards or recommendations from the USDA and FDA.”

Characteristics of Effective Policy to Standardize Food Date Labels

When it comes to effective policy for standardizing food date labels, Latino points to “four ingredients”:

1. Voluntary labeling: Rather than creating new requirements to add date labels, offer standardized language that businesses that are already labeling foods can choose to use.

2. Standardizing the language: Use terms that have been tested to show the greatest level of understanding; most advocates and industry groups support “BEST if used by” to indicate peak quality and “USE by” to indicate when food should no longer be consumed because of increased safety considerations.

3. Address sale and donation of past-date foods: Include language that makes it clear that when food has a quality label, even if that food is past its date, it can still be sold, eaten, and donated.

4. Education: Once there are consistent terms being used—across states and products—lean into educating people on what each phrase means.

As for models that exemplify these ingredients, Latino points to the federal Food Date Labeling Act of 2023 and California’s AB 660.

Food Business Response

Of course, it would be a lot easier to pass federal legislation to standardize food date labels if those that will be forced to comply—food businesses—are supportive. And fortunately, Latino points to evidence that this is the case. “In early 2024, more than 25 industry supporters signed on to a letter supporting the federal Food Date Labeling Act, which shows really good momentum,” states Latino. “Food businesses recognize it would be better to have one set of rules to follow rather than 40 plus.”

As another sign of industry support, Sarah Gallo, Consumer Brands Association’s Senior Vice President, Product Policy and Federal Affairs, joined a ReFED webinar last month and shared that “the vast majority of our members have adopted two standardized phrases,” as a result of the voluntary initiative launched back in 2017, which encourages the use of “BEST if used by” and “USE by.” She also noted that the Consumer Brands Association is supportive of a federal policy solution to standardize food date labels.

Looking Ahead

While there is hope that a new federal Food Date Labeling Act will be reintroduced in the 119th Congress (2025-2026), Latino shares that states who are interested in policy to standardize food date labels can use California’s AB 660 as a great place to start. In addition, the Zero Food Waste Coalition’s Achieving Zero Food Waste: A State Policy Toolkit provides a helpful checklist that includes considerations and best practices for food date label policy.

As alluded to earlier, Latino concludes by sharing that “Americans are relying on date labels to toss out food even more” than they did in 2016 when a consumer survey was first conducted. ReFED’s analysis shows that standardizing food date labels has the potential to divert 425,000 tons of food from going to waste every year in the United States, creating a net financial benefit of $1.82 billion. With the groundswell of legislation at the state level and growing industry support, there are encouraging signs that a future with standardized food date labeling is possible.