Media Coverage of FLPC’s Report on Date Labels and Proposed Legislation for Standardization

On Wednesday, May 18th, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Chellie Pingree introduced companion bills to standardize food date labels across the United States. FLPC just released data from a national survey (conducted with the National Consumers League and Johns Hopkins Center for Livable Future) that illustrates how consumer confusion over date labels impacts the amount of food waste nationally, and leads to 84% of consumers throwing food away when the date passes. When consumers misinterpret these indicators of quality as indicators of safety, the amount of food that is discarded greatly increases, which is bad for consumers’ wallets, the food system, and the environment. 

Below is media coverage of the proposed legislation and report:

• Fox News, May 18, 2016: Confused about that ‘use by’ date? Congress attempts to standardize food expiration dates
• Roll Call, May 18, 2016: Can Congress Stop People From Wasting Perfectly Good Food?
• ThinkProgress, May 18, 2016: The ‘Sell By’ Dates On Our Groceries Are Causing Tons Of Food Waste
• The Washington Post, May 19, 2016: The simple labeling update that could prevent millions of tons of food from going in the trash
• The Washington Post, May 19, 2016: The expiration dates on our food could be contributing to a huge environmental problem
• The Huffington Post, May 19, 2016: This Could Clarify WTF Food Expiration Dates Actually Mean
• Civil Eats, May 19, 2016: To Eat or Not to Eat? The Food Date Labeling Act Could Help You Decide
• CityLab (from The Atlantic), May 19, 2016: A New Bill Could Clear Up Some of That Confusion About Date Labels on Food Packaging
• Hartford Business, May 19, 2016: Blumenthal seeks standard food expiration labels
• Greener Package, May 19, 2016: Legislation proposed to standardize food date labeling
• Consumer Reports, May 19, 2016: Misunderstood Food Labeling Leads to Food Waste
• Regal Tribune, May 19, 2016: Future Bill Against Food Waste
• FoodNavigator-USA, May 20, 2016: Nestlé backs Blumenthal and Pingree bill for federal expiry date standard
• Health line, May 23, 2016: Universal Expiration Date May Curb Food Waste
• Packaging World, May 23, 2016: Legislation proposed to standardize food date labeling
• Munchies (from Vice), May 23, 2016: America Is Finally Getting Food Expiration Labels That Will Make Sense
• The Economist, May 24, 2016: Why America’s food labels are approaching their best before date
• Los Angeles Times, May 24, 2016: The date on the milk carton says it’s expired, but is it?
• Agri-Pulse, May 25, 2016: ‘Use-by’ labels contribute to food waste, House Ag panel told
• Mic, May 25, 2016: 70 Billion Pounds of Food Are Wasted EveryYear. Lawmakers Are Finally Addressing It.
• ClimateWire, May 26, 2016: Scientists urge Congress to tackle food waste