U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner of Food Policy & Response Frank Yiannas issued a letter to food industry participants May 23 in support of more standardized food labeling in an effort to help cut down on waste.
Citing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Economic Research Service, Yiannas says that 30 percent of food is lost or wasted at the retail or consumer level, equating to 133 billion pounds of waste totaling $161 billion each year.
According to Yiannas, different food labeling phraseology that includes “best if used by,” “use by,” “sell by,” and others can contribute to consumer confusion about a product’s shelf life.
“The Food and Drug Administration has found that food waste by consumers may often result from fears about food safety caused by misunderstanding what the introductory phrases on product date labels mean, along with uncertainty about storage of perishable foods. It has been estimated that confusion over date labeling accounts for approximately 20 percent of consumer food waste,” Yiannas writes.
To help clarify and simplify date-based labeling, the FDA voiced its support for standardizing the use of the “best if used by” label for products that may suffer in quality, but remain safe to consume after the date label.
“As approximately 80 percent of the foods in the U.S. are regulated by the FDA, we would like to inform our regulated food industries that FDA strongly supports industry’s voluntary industrywide efforts to use the ‘best if used by’ introductory phrase when choosing to include a quality-based date label to indicate when a product will be at its best flavor and quality,” Yiannas writes.
The FDA didn’t offer comment on standardizing “best by” wording on packaging to denote when a consumable is no longer safe to eat.
Yiannas states that, along with clearer labeling, the industry needs to work to better educate consumers on food safety.
“While standardizing the use of date labels for quality reasons is encouraged as a best practice, we know that labeling is not enough. FDA supports ongoing consumer education efforts by industry, government, and non-government organizations to educate consumers on what quality-based date labels mean and how to use them to further reduce food waste in the home,” Yiannas concludes.