Why Are We Wasting So Much Food?

       Consumers are usually getting confused with all the different meanings that are written on food labels, “Best before,” “Sell by,” “Use by,” “Enjoy by,” “Expires on,” “Display until,” etc. Sometimes these labels create so much confusion that food is getting wasted before it is really bad to consume. In 2013, the Harvard Food Law and Policy Report Clinic and Natural Defense Council produced a report, which indicated that Americans waste 160 billion pounds of food each year, valued approximately $29 billion. This figure is frightening taking into consideration the fact that 1/3 of the world is hungry and we have the same issue at home as well.

       An immediate question that comes to mind is; whose responsibility is controlling product date labeling language? Last year, two Democratic members of Congress wanted to impose uniformity throughout the grocery aisles, requiring that “Best if used” and “Expires on” indicate quality and safety. Meghan Stasz, senior director of sustainability at Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) mentions that under the uniform code, the main packaging language used will become “Best if used by,” which will indicate the food quality and not the expiration date. According to Stasz, consumers take “use-by” dates as the last day before the product spoilage. However, after that date the product is still good to consume, but might not taste as we expect and might not have as much vitamin content, as the label indicates, but are still safe to consume.

       The change, as the GMA predicts, will take place in 2018.  Also, Stasz mentions that will develop a campaign to inform consumers about the changes that will be expecting to take place in regards to the exact meaning of the new quality and the food safety. Apart from clarifying food labels, the effort hopes to save food from waste. It is projected that by clearing up the confusing labels, national food waste can be reduced to 8 %.

        How much this change will affect consumers is hard to predict. However, there is a hope that consumers and producers will take responsibility for tossing food in garbage, while millions of people worldwide are dying from hunger.

References

Brooke, Z. (2017). After years of confusing consumers a plethora of product expiration of product expiration phrases, the packaged food industry is finally embracing standardized labels. Retrieved from:  https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pages/standardized-food-expiration-labels.aspx.

Charles, D. (2017). For Food Manufacturers, ‘Sell By’ Labels May Have Reached Their Expiration Date. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/15/515427797/food-companies-may-say-goodbye-to-sell-by-labels.

Rossman, S. (2017).  Use by? Sell by? New food labels aim to make it easier to know. Retrieved from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/02/17/grocers-want-you-stop-throwing-away-food-too-soon/98037974.