Kroger to adopt new food labeling strategy to help fight waste

The Kroger Co., based in Cincinnati, announced its plan to standardize date labels for its Our Brands-branded food products. According to the company, the standardization will help provide customers with simpler, easier-to-understand product quality and safety information as part of its “Zero Hunger | Zero Waste” social impact commitment.

"Kroger recognizes food waste often takes place in our customers' kitchens simply because product date labels can be confusing, resulting in safe-to-eat food regularly being tossed out," Howard Popoola, vice president of corporate food technology and regulatory compliance at Kroger, says. "As Kroger works to reduce food waste throughout our business and our communities, we are standardizing and simplifying Our Brands products' date labels, providing clearer guidance to our customers."

Kroger says that one in nine Americans struggles with hunger every day, while 40 percent of the food produced in the country goes uneaten, which includes the food waste created in shoppers' households. Additionally, according to research conducted by ReFED, 20 percent of avoidable food waste is estimated to be caused by consumer date labeling confusion.

"Standardized date labeling is one of the most cost-effective solutions to reduce food waste and provide more resources to food banks across the country," Chris Cochran, executive director of ReFED, says. "We applaud Kroger's continued leadership on food waste reduction through its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste plan, and ReFED is proud to partner with America's largest grocer to help the retailer achieve its bold, commendable goal by 2025." 

Earlier this year, Kroger began to transition Our Brands food products to feature one of the following date labels:

• "Use by" labels: “Use by” labels are used to represent food safety. If a customer reads "use by" followed by a date, it indicates the deadline for when it is no longer safe to eat.
• "Best if used by" labels: "Best if used by" labels are used to represent food quality. If a customer reads "best if used by" followed by a date, it indicates the deadline for guaranteed freshness but does not affect the product's safety.

The simplified labels will apply to multiple product categories, including dairy, deli, bakery, and fresh and frozen grocery.

"Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste vision was designed to use our scale for good to create positive change in every community where we operate. By implementing a standard and simplified new date-labeling approach, Kroger and our customers can play an instrumental role in preventing tons of food waste from arriving at landfills, resulting in a healthier, stronger planet and communities free of hunger and waste," Jessica Adelman, group vice president of corporate affairs and chief social impact officer at Kroger, says.

Kroger will complete the Our Brands date label transition in 2020.