Is there a science to food date labeling? US food waste study probes a possible link

15 May 2020 --- Minimizing food waste is top of mind for many during the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers concerned about the potential ramifications for food supply chains. To address this concern and combat global food waste, researchers at the University of Maryland, US, have come together across departments in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources with the goal of clarifying the science or lack thereof behind food date labels. The team is highlighting the need for interdisciplinary research and global research trends in its new publication in Food Control.

Prior to COVID-19, given concerns about a rapidly growing population and hunger around the world, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) issued a global call for zero tolerance on food waste. However, the lack of regulation, standardization and general understanding of date labeling on food products, such as “best by” and “use by” dates, leads to billions of dollars per year in food waste in the US alone, FAO says.

“We have 50 different types of date labels that are currently used in the US because there is no regulation – best by, best if used by, use by – and we as consumers don't know what these things mean,” explains Debasmita Patra, Assistant Research Professor in Environmental Science and Technology and lead author on the paper. 

The labeling is the manufacturer's best estimation based on taste or whatever else, and it is not scientifically proven, says Patra. “But our future intention is to scientifically prove what is the best way to label foods. As a consumer and a mother, a best by date might raise food safety concerns, but date labeling and food safety are not connected to each other right now, which is a wide source of confusion. And when billions of dollars are just going to the trash because of this, it's not a small thing,” she claims. 

According to the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS), US consumers discard or waste about 133 billion pounds of food each year, representing US$161 billion and a 31 percent loss of food at the retail and consumer level. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 90 percent of US consumers say they are likely to prematurely discard food because they misinterpret date labels because of food safety concerns or uncertainty on how to properly store the product. 

This simple confusion accounts for 20 percent of the total annual food waste in the US, representing more than 26 billion lbs per year and over US$32 billion in food waste.

“Food waste is a significant threat to food security,” adds Paul Leisnham, Associate Professor in Environmental Science and Technology and co-author. “Recognition of food waste due to confusion over date labeling is growing, but few studies have summarized the status of the research on this topic.”

“We wanted to see the trends and give some suggestions, because the paper shows that we are some of the very few who are thinking about truly interdisciplinary research connecting food labeling to food waste,” continues Patra. “In fact, one major finding was that environmental sciences and food science departments don't seem to collaborate on this topic, so we are doing something unique here at UMD.”

The paper underlined the fact that future research on food waste and date labeling needs to take an interdisciplinary approach to better explore the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, adds Leisnham. “Expertise from environmental science, food science, sociology, extension education, and other disciplines can more effectively develop interventions to reduce behaviors that may increase food waste,” he continues. “This is an environmental issue, but involves the knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and social behaviors of multiple stakeholders, including retailers, food-service providers and diverse consumers.”

Patra further stresses the importance of further collaboration through University of Maryland Extension (UME) to have maximum impact on food waste. “Where is the confusion coming from?,” says Patra. “If we understand that, maybe we can better disseminate the information through our Extension work.”

Food is part of everybody's life and so everyone needs to be a good food manager, flags Patra. “But even now, there is no robust scientific evidence behind date labels, and yet those labels govern people's purchasing behavior. People look for something that has a longer ‘best by’ date thinking they are getting something better. And when you throw that food away, you are not only wasting the food, but also all the economics associated with that, like production costs, transportation from the whole farm to fork chain, and everything else that brought you that product just to be thrown away,” she explains. 

“Food safety, regulation and education need to all combine to help solve this problem, which is why interdisciplinary collaboration is so important,” concludes Patra.

Edited by Elizabeth Green