California Mandates Standardized Food Date Labels: The End of 'Sell By' Confusion?

Key points

• California is the first state to legally standardize food date labels, prioritizing 'Best if Used By' for quality and 'Use By' for safety.
• The law aims to significantly reduce environmental food waste by preventing consumers from tossing safe food due to confusing 'Sell By' dates.
• This legislative move is expected to force a national shift in packaging as brands realize they cannot maintain separate labeling systems for different states.

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Sources and methodology

Reported from the public datasets below.

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - FTC enforcement actions
• U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) - DOJ press releases and filings

All sources Foodie Pundit reports from

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