Confusion over 'use by' labels causes 7% of food waste in the U.S.
Download mp3 (1.11 MB)‘Tis the season to make way more food than we can eat.
But research shows our own perceptions about food date labels might play a major role in food waste, too.
The Congressional Research Service reports that confusion over food date labels accounts for 7% of food waste in the U.S.
With no federal oversight of what more than 10 variations of “best if used by” and “use-by” actually mean, people have little to fall back on but their own levels of risk-aversion.
The November 2023 Consumer Food Insights Report, a nationwide survey of 1,200 consumers, found half thought such date labels had to do with food safety, while over 30% believed they related to peak food quality.
That’s closer to the truth, though labeling information is largely left to the manufacturer’s discretion.
