A bipartisan, bicameral bill has been reintroduced in Congress to standardize and clarify food date labels to prevent food from being wasted. The Food Date Labeling Act was reintroduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-ME; Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-WA; and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT. Rep. Pingree first introduced a version of the food date labeling bill, along with the more comprehensive Food Recovery Act, in the 113th Congress.
The 2023 bill aims to standardize and limit the date labeling phrasing on product packaging to help consumers differentiate between safety and quality issues and reduce food waste. “Sell by,” “use by,” “freshest on,” and “expires on” are a few of the date labeling phrases being used on food product packaging currently.