Food Protection Trends - July/August 2023 - 355

opportunity to reduce climate burdens, move toward a more
sustainable food system, and help reach the Sustainable
Development Goals. The literature suggests that food
labels, rather than providing safeguards, cause confusion for
consumers. Consumers mistakenly think that " best before "
dates indicate safety, but they are intended to indicate quality
and freshness (2, 7, 11, 16, 23). This confusion contributes
heavily to food waste. A change in policy surrounding food
labels is an opportunity to address food waste.
DISCUSSION
In the United States, the FSIS recommends that those food
manufacturers and retailers that use dates on products should
use a " best if used by " date because research shows that this
language conveys to consumers that the product will be the
best quality if used by the indicated date (11). Best practices
from WRAP in the United Kingdom recommend that using
a " best before " date on prepackaged, uncut, fresh produce
is useful to aid consumers in eating rather than wasting the
product; but for all other cases, no date is recommended
(26). From the literature, there is a consensus that " best
before " dates are not the most effective way to convey to
consumers the quality or freshness of the food because consumers
mistakenly believe that the food is no longer safe to
consume after that date. From a policy perspective, there is an
opportunity to address this issue and use it as a mechanism to
reduce food waste.
Across many jurisdictions, the practice of labeling items with
" best before " dates is voluntary for retailers and producers; this
provides an opportunity to address food waste. Whereas date
labeling for many items is voluntary, one approach to reducing
food waste would be to put in place policies that would prevent
retailers from date labeling foods that are not required to have
date labels. It is well documented that much of the world's
food waste occurs in the home at the consumer level and that
consumers demonstrate limited ability to correctly interpret
what is meant by " best before " dates.
In Canada in particular, 63% of food that was thrown away
was consumable. This creates unnecessary strain on the waste
management system and unnecessary contributions to GHG
emissions. If " best before " dates were no longer influencing
consumers to think food past the labeled date was not safe
to eat, there would possibly be a significant impact on food
waste. Household food waste caused by overreliance on " best
before " dates needs to be addressed in Canada. There are
several options for reducing food waste through improved
management of " best before " dates: harmonizing the " best
before " date labeling system across the country to ensure
consistency and reduce consumer confusion; encouraging
the use of more descriptive language on food labels, such as
" consume by " or " use by, " which better convey the intended
meaning of the date; and developing educational campaigns
to raise consumer awareness about the true meaning of " best
before " dates and how they can be used to reduce food waste.
Also, the implementation of " best before " date labeling
requirements for certain categories of food products that
are commonly wasted, such as perishable goods, and the
promotion of the reduction of food waste in the supply chain,
including through more efficient distribution and storage
practices, would also likely reduce food waste over time.
A comprehensive, multistakeholder approach to reducing
household food waste is needed in Canada, and addressing the
issue of " best before " dates is an important part of this effort.
The current use of " best before " dates should be replaced
with the implementation of a wider range of markers on
packaged foods; these could include " sell by, " " prepared
on, " " freeze by, " or " manufactured on " dates, as outlined by
the FSIS in the United States (10). This would approach
food labels from a food safety standpoint versus a focus
on freshness and quality of food. Using dates that would
indicate the safety of consumption for necessary products
would avoid confusion. This approach would also provide
consumers more ways to save food; for instance, the use of
" freeze by " would indicate to consumers that the product
could be consumed or saved for a later date and would still be
safe to consume.
In addition to reducing food waste, improved labeling on
food also offers the opportunity to address such issues as
climate change and food security. Food waste contributes
significantly to climate issues: GHGs are produced during
the transportation of food to landfills and during the process
of decomposition in landfills. Many countries have created
dedicated plans to target climate change. Canada's 2030
Emissions Reduction Plan aims to reduce emissions by 40%
below 2005 levels and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Without a consensus on how food is labeled, consumers will
continue to be confused about when food is safe to consume
and when it should be disposed of. Inconsistencies have led
consumers to mistakenly interpret date labels, which leads
to excessive food waste. Greater awareness of other ways to
identify when food is expired or consumable, as opposed to
reliance on " best before " dates, could have a dramatic impact
on the amount of household food waste. " Best before " dates
are mandatory on only certain categories of food; based
on the literature available, the waste caused by their use
outweighs the protection they offer consumers. This is
especially true in cases in which " best before " dates indicate
only quality and freshness of food, not whether the food is
safe to consume. As the United Kingdom has done, other
jurisdictions, retailers, and producers should also examine
the benefit of " best before " labels compared to the waste they
produce and should consider the positive impacts that could
result from no longer using " best before " dates. " Best before "
dates have been used for fewer than 100 years in Canada and
the United States; the system, relatively new, has never been
fundamentally changed. As the world works to become more
sustainable, every avenue, including " best before " labels as a
contributor to food waste, should be explored.
July/August Food Protection Trends 355
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