Food Label Dates
The food industry uses food label dates frequently even though consumers don't fully understand what they mean. Although label dates are frequently established by the food producer to signify quality or freshness, consumers may incorrectly conclude that they are intended to transmit information about an item's safety. Therefore, label date confusion has become a factor in home food waste, an issue that is becoming more and more of a social, economic, and environmental concern (Kavanaugh and Quinlan, 2020). American adults participated in an online survey to find out how often they use and are aware of food dates and labels. They also answered questions about their tendency to waste food, which is defined as throwing away food that is probably still safe to eat. 81.6 percent of respondents said they used food date labels. However, only 57.4% of respondents correctly defined "best by, use by," but 68.1% and 79.7% of respondents correctly defined "expiration date" and "sell by date," respectively (Kavanaugh and Quinlan, 2020). It is important that we understand food label dates even before we go out to the grocery store to purchase any food item. We can reduce food loss even before buying food.
Expiry Date and Sell By Date
Sell by date labels are not considered under EU regulations and do not require special attention from us when buying the food, but can help retailers control their stocks. The most important labels to understand and look for are the best before, expiration and use by dates. Expiry date is usually confused for a best before date. A best-before date and an expiry date are not the same thing. Certain foods with certain nutritional contents that may degrade after a specified period of time that is the established expiration date that is placed on the food item. Put another way, food may not contain the nutrients listed on the label once the expiration date has passed. Formulated liquid diets, foods purchased from pharmacies, meal replacements, nutritional supplements and baby formula all have to have expiration dates on them. Food that has passed its expiration date must be thrown away rather than consumed.
Use By Date and Best Before Date
The best before date is about the quality of the food, while the use by date is about safety. You should not eat food past its use by date, but you can eat food past its best before date if it looks, smells and tastes fine. The use by date is used for foods that are highly perishable (likely to spoil and pose a risk to making people sick quickly). This includes fresh meat, fish, dairy products, fruit juices and other chilled ready-to-eat foods. After the use by date has passed, the food is unsafe to eat. Even if the food looks and smells fine, it should not be eaten after this day as it may make you sick. When the packaging mentions instructions such as ‘eat within three days of opening’, even if it still looks good after three days, you should not eat it.
A large variety of items, whether they are frozen, canned, dried, or otherwise preserved, have best before dates on them. Products like pasta, rice, and other grains, as well as canned fruits and vegetables, vegetable oils, chocolate, and many more are included in this category. Eggs hatched in Europe are additionally marked with a best before date, which is 28 days from the date of laying. After this date, it’s normally safe to eat, but the taste, texture or smell might not be at its best. If the food looks, smells and tastes good, and the packaging is also intact, it will most likely be safe to use even past its best before date. Even if the quality has slightly declined, it can still be recycled for other purposes, such as baking or cooking.
Occasionally, the package will also provide suggestions on how to store the product after it has been opened or how to store food to preserve its quality. To prolong the shelf life of the food, these should be followed.
Food Waste (FW)
Approximately 88 million tons of food are wasted annually in Europe with two-thirds (2/3) being attributed to household wastages (Secondi, 2019). One of the primary reasons of FW has been identified as the misinterpretation of expiration dates (Secondi, 2019).
Food Waste refers to food that moves through the food supply chain up to a product fit for human consumption, but is not consumed because it is discarded, whether or not after it is kept beyond its expiry date or left to spoil. Food waste is the result of negligence or a conscious decision to throw food away.
It is intended that by giving the buyer more information about the packaged food's quality, less food will be needlessly wasted (Skinner, 2015). New packaging options have emerged recently with the goal of helping consumers better manage the quality and freshness of food while also prolonging the shelf life of items (Barone and Aschemann-Witzel, 2022). This led to the development of smart labels attached to food items to provide the consumer with more information about the food label even after the expiration of the food item and also to differentiate which food item is still in good condition even before or after the label date has passed. This introduction has substantially helped to reduce the amount of food waste caused by throwing away food that could have still been eaten.
Impact on Food Security and the Environmental
Expiry dates on food items contribute to food waste, which in turn impacts food security and the environment. Almost USD $936 billion, or one-third of all food produced for human consumption, is lost or wasted annually along the whole supply chain. Food security, the economy, and the environment are all seriously threatened by this food loss and waste. Eight to ten percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide is attributed to food loss and waste, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Food Insecurity
Food security refers to the availability and access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. By adhering to these dates, individuals can ensure they are consuming food at its optimal quality and reducing the risk of foodborne illnesses. Expiry dates and food label dates in general provide guidance on how long food can be safely consumed, helping to prevent food spoilage and waste. These dates are often more about food quality than safety. For instance, eggs should be eaten within 3 to 5 weeks when refrigerated, and milk should be consumed within a week of opening when refrigerated . It is important to note that food may still be safe to eat past these dates, depending on storage conditions and the specific food item. Food shouldn't be thrown away needlessly without checking to see if it is still safe to eat. Therefore, relying on senses such as smell and taste can also be helpful in determining food safety . The misinterpretation of expiry dates can lead to unnecessary food disposal, which impacts food security by wasting resources and increasing food demand. Consumers shouldn't be overly concerned or feel insecure about food safety due to the labels on them.
Environmental Impact
Misreading the dates on food labels creates an endless cycle of needless waste that has a serious negative influence on the environment. Food that is still perfectly edible is thrown away and rots in landfills, creating methane, a potent greenhouse gas that speeds up climate change. Furthermore, this garbage wastes the valuable resources such as water, electricity, and land that were utilized in its production, packaging, and transportation. When more food is grown to meet the demand brought on by wastefulness, forests are cut and ecosystems are disturbed, which has a further compounding effect. The hidden costs of resource waste and environmental damage are associated with each item that is thrown away. We can lessen food waste, save resources, preserve natural habitats, and contribute to the creation of a more sustainable future by knowing how to correctly interpret food label dates.
Smart Labels
Smart labels, sometimes referred to as intelligent or connected labels, launched in 2015, are a particular kind of label that uses connecting technology to attach a digital platform to the physical label that may be accessed by phone or other scanning device that provides consumers with detailed product information beyond what is printed on the package. Inks that have been chemically created to interact with their surroundings are commonly used as smart label functionality (Skinner, 2015). Smart labels come in several forms, but one of the most common is the QR code label. Quick Response code labels, or QR code labels, are two-dimensional barcodes that can hold text, URLs, context, or even geo-coordinates. Other types of smart labels are Data Embedded Barcodes, Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, Near Field Communication (NFC) tags, Time Temperature Indicators (TTI), Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) and E-ink labels.
As food deteriorates, smart labels are able to detect changes in temperature, freshness, oxygen content, and carbon dioxide content. When bacteria, yeasts, and fungi break down proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, volatile gases are generated. The presence of these gases can reveal information about how fresh packaged food is (Skinner, 2015).
Various companies and retailers use Smart Label as a tool to provide consumers with quick and simple access to product information, such as allergens, certifications, and other pertinent details. This technology tracks and identifies products using radio waves, making it easier to track inventories, have smooth customer interactions, and product security. They usually provide information regarding food safety and/or quality in real time rather than relying on inaccurate expiration dates, which helps to avoid foodborne infections as well as the massive food waste that comes from early food recalls (Azeredo and Correa, 2021).
How would you behave if an expiration date is no longer put on a bottle of your favorite drink?
The potential removal of best before dates from certain items was then discussed; this proposal was made recently by the European Parliament. Since this information is now needed by law, the study looked into how consumers would react if best before dates were deleted for certain non-perishable commodities, like rice, pasta, coffee, and tea.
From a study conducted by (Secondi, 2019) on Italians and Europeans, interviewees were asked what action they would take if they discovered a packet of spaghetti that had no best before date and they were unable to recall when they had purchased it. In this case, most individuals would probably eat the food provided it appeared to be in good condition and the package was undamaged (Secondi, 2019). About one in five Italians "would use spaghetti anyway," compared to over one-third of EU citizens who chose this choice. Therefore, compared to over 70% of all EU inhabitants, roughly 64% of Italians would consume a product without a best before indication. What would you do? It is however advisable to follow the instructions of the food labels and know which food item is good to eat even without a label on it.
Practical Tips for Consumers
To ensure food safety and reduce waste, consumers should;
Understand the different food date labels on food products i.e "sell-by," "use-by," "expiry date" and "best before," which provide guidance on when to consume items for optimal freshness.
Trust their taste buds and sense of smell to determine if perishable food has spoiled.
Pay attention to expiration dates and choose food items with a longer shelf life.
Only consider buying in bulk for non-perishable items and buying fresh produce in smaller quantities to prevent spoilage.
Use the USDA's Is This Still Good to Eat? If unsure about what the date on a food label means.
Additionally be aware of the storage times for specific foods, such as 1-2 days for ground meat and 3-4 days for cooked meat. This can help prevent food waste and ensure safety.
References
Azeredo, H.M.C. and Correa, D.S. (2021) ‘Smart choices: Mechanisms of intelligent food packaging’, Current Research in Food Science, 4, pp. 932–936. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crfs.2021.11.016.
Barone, A.M. and Aschemann-Witzel, J. (2022) ‘Food handling practices and expiration dates: Consumers’ perception of smart labels’, Food Control, 133(PB), p. 108615. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2021.108615.
Kavanaugh, M. and Quinlan, J.J. (2020) ‘Consumer knowledge and behaviors regarding food date labels and food waste’, Food Control, 115(March), p. 107285. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2020.107285.
Secondi, L. (2019) ‘Expiry dates, consumer behavior, and food waste: How would Italian consumers react if there were no longer “best before” labels?’, Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(23), pp. 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236821.
Skinner, G.A. (2015) Smart labelling of foods and beverages, Advances in Food and Beverage Labelling: Information and Regulations. Woodhead Publishing Limited. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1533/9781782420934.3.191.
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