The notion behind manufacturers best before dates is responsible for this unnecessary food waste by Americans alone, according to current estimates by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Manufacturers best before dates are not expiration dates
This looming problem is primarily caused by a seemingly misinformed public who unknowingly dispose of food which they deem ‘expired’ when in fact it still isn’t. Thanks to manufacturer use by dates that consumers think are the expiry dates and discard food when it is still safe for consumption.
These dates, according to many US consumer reports, may seem to be telling different dates whether as best before, use by and expiration among others, are in fact not precisely designed to fit the bill.
The USDA report pointed out that the estimated figures were based on data from retail and consumer levels. This is an indication that there is a need to make proper adjustments to clear up this
No uniform system
Admittedly, authorities believe that food manufacturers are not compelled to adopt a uniform system to indicate which type of date to list on their product or if they even need to have the specific date in their products.
To address this concern, Congress may soon ratify the Food Date Labelling Act of 2016 which aims to provide specific guidelines on the date labelling process.
Same issues with other countries
It seems like this problem is not isolated to the US alone. In a similar study from the United Kingdom, researchers also noted the same concern in British households. The study reveals that an average household composed of four family members waste around $275 to $455 every year.
The study reveals that such confusion was responsible for some 91 percent of consumers who discard food based on their ‘sell by’ date. This date label does not actually refer to the product itself, but a way for retailers when they could rotate their inventory.
Big challenge
Food authorities are facing a big challenge regarding this concern as there are currently no exact means by which to tell the exact dates when food is safe for consumption or when food is already unsafe to eat.
But with the passing of the new bill to improve the date labelling guidelines, the public may soon see a more accurate detail to help the consuming public become more aware of this problem and save up on billions of dollars annually due to wasted food.
Other countries are also expected to follow suit in order to create awareness regarding manufacturers best before dates and put an end to this concern once and for all.
The post Some Manufacturers Best Before Dates Wasted Lot’s Of Edible Food appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.
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