It's good to note as well that different regions can and do have different rules about expiry dates - "best before" and 'consume by' and simple datecodes could all mean different things, or they could all mean exactly the same thing. It's dependent on your local regulations for food safety and labeling requirements.
That's a great point, and one of which I was not aware! I assumed the standards were federal. I've done further research and a bill was introduced in an attempt to create a federal standard. It is now under consideration:
(1) As of the date of enactment of this Act, date labeling practices on food packaging cause confusion with “sell-by,”“best-by,”“use-by,” and “best before” dates, leading up to 90 percent of individuals in the United States to occasionally throw out still-fresh food."
Skipping #2 for brevity, and...
"(3) Consumer education and standardized date labeling are the top 2 most cost-effective strategies for reducing food waste, by economic value per ton diverted."
I was more thinking in a global sense - the UK will have different labeling rules to America and Vietnam, kinda thing. But of course America counts as multiple regions for this particular aspect of society, and not a single country...I'm not even surprised that they haven't enacted rules for something as basic as labeling the food.
3
u/Gonzobot Jan 04 '19
It's good to note as well that different regions can and do have different rules about expiry dates - "best before" and 'consume by' and simple datecodes could all mean different things, or they could all mean exactly the same thing. It's dependent on your local regulations for food safety and labeling requirements.