US consumers discard edible food prematurely due to confusion over food date labels amid inflationary pressures and global food insecurity, according to a recent survey. 

The research, which included over 2,000 adult consumers, was conducted by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, ReFED, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The results reveal that about 43% of consumers report discarding food close to or past the label date (up from 37% in 2016). Some 88% claimed to do so at least occasionally (up from 84% in 2016).

The findings are significant as the USDA states that most foods remain safe for consumption past the printed date.

“At a time when consumers are trying to stretch their food budgets to deal with high prices, we need to be doing everything we can to help maximize the value of the food they’re already purchasing, and addressing consumer confusion over date labels should be top of the list,” says Dana Gunders, president of ReFED and co-author of the report.

“ReFED’s modeling shows that standardizing date labels could prevent at least 425,000 metric tons of food waste annually, and that translates directly to cost savings for consumers. While we’re not moving in the right direction, the stage is set, and the time to act is now.”

Billions in wasted food

According to ReFED, consumers in the US throw away close to 35 million metric tons of edible food per year, which has an economic value of approximately US$800 per person.

Furthermore, the non-profit estimates that misconceptions about date labels result in US buyers wasting about three billion pounds of food annually, valued at US$7 billion.

“More people than ever mistakenly discard safe and healthy food, and this study suggests that efforts like the food industry’s voluntary Product Code Dating Initiative, while a commendable effort to start us on a path toward clearer date labels, do not seem to have improved how people use or interpret date labels,” says Emily Broad Leib, faculty director of the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School and co-author.

ReFED recommends standardizing date labels as an economical solution to crack down on food waste.

“A federally regulated system of standardized food date labels people can trust — along with consumer education that clarifies what they mean — would not only reduce food waste but also save money and better use our natural resources,” notes Leib.

Other key findings reveal that an average of 87% of consumers thought they understood eight different labels, but when quizzed, only an average of 53% answered correctly.

The data highlights that consumers perceive date labels differently depending on the food item, which sometimes leads to wasted edible food (such as breakfast cereal) and increased food safety risks when deli meats and cheese are not discarded on time.

Moreover, certain consumer cohorts, like economically vulnerable groups, are more likely to be misled by date labels.

“The message for consumers is also striking: You might be throwing out food when you don’t need to,” says Roni Neff, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering and co-author.

“We found that across labels, on average, 39% of respondents thought they knew the label meanings but were incorrect. In fact, in nearly all cases, it’s better to rely on your senses than the label when deciding whether food is still good to eat.”