California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
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Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#2We basically already have this in the UK, and is is helpful. But we still waste too much! One of the local groups that I work with (ish) saves huge amounts of stuff from supermarkets regularly that would otherwise be discarded.
Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#3Will it be replaced with a "Produced on XXXX" date?
If you don't know when a product is considered unsafe, then at least you should know when it was produced to know if it is fresh enough for "YOUR"your consumption.
It shouldn't be up to the govt to decide what is or isn't fresh enough for you. That is your choice.
Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#4Will it be replaced with a "Produced on XXXX" date? If you don't know when a product is considered unsafe, then at least you should know when it was produced to know if it is fresh enough for "YOUR"your consumption. It shouldn't be up to the govt to decide what is or isn't fresh enough for you. That is your choice.
Is the current system of "Use by" not also entirely driven by government regulation, from the requirement to the ∆T?
Agreed that a "Produced on" date is better.
Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#5> There are more than 50 different date labels on packaged food sold in stores, but the information is largely unregulated and does not relate to food safety.
WTF? How is this not regulated? It feels like one of the very first things you'd stick some regulation on…
Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#6Will it be replaced with a "Produced on XXXX" date? If you don't know when a product is considered unsafe, then at least you should know when it was produced to know if it is fresh enough for "YOUR"your consumption. It shouldn't be up to the govt to decide what is or isn't fresh enough for you. That is your choice.
Is the current system of "Use by" not also entirely driven by government regulation, from the requirement to the ∆T? Agreed that a "Produced on" date is better.
No, only dairy and egg products are labelled as such based on government regulations. Everything else is a number companies pull out of their butts.
Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#7> There are more than 50 different date labels on packaged food sold in stores, but the information is largely unregulated and does not relate to food safety. WTF? How is this not regulated? It feels like one of the very first things you'd stick some regulation on…
Why?
Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#8> There are more than 50 different date labels on packaged food sold in stores, but the information is largely unregulated and does not relate to food safety. WTF? How is this not regulated? It feels like one of the very first things you'd stick some regulation on…
It's regulated on products where it matters. For many foodstuffs though, they don't really become unsafe, at least not on reasonable timescales. You probably don't want to drink a soda you found from 1996 but even if you did it would probably just be flat and maybe taste a little funky.
Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#9It's dumb, I don't like shopping without it
Re: California first state to ban 'sell by' 'best before' label to reduce food waste
#10Title is a little misleading, as attested to by several comments here. It's more a standardization (which, yes, does include "banning" the non-standard labels)
Relevant quote:
> The law is set to take effect in July 2026, establishing a new standard for food labeling in California. It will require the use of “Best if Used By” label to signal peak quality and “Use By” label for product safety, an approach recommended by federal agencies