USDA revises guidance on date labelling to reduce food waste

23 January 2017

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued updated information on food product labeling, including new guidance aimed at reducing food waste through encouraging food manufacturers and retailers that apply product dating to use a “Best if Used By” date label.
FSIS is changing its guidance to recommend the use of “Best if Used By” because research shows that this phrase is easily understood by consumers as an indicator of quality, rather than safety. USDA estimates that 30 percent of food is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer level and wants to help facilitate food donation and reduce food waste (USDA News Release, 14 December 2016).
Click here for the full news release.
Click here to download the guidance document FSIS-2016-0044 (270 kB).
Click here for more information about the NVC Course Food Packaging.

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