California becomes first state to ban 'sell-by' dates on food packaging

[IcyPeas]

I always look at dates on my foodstuffs. Do you? If this makes it more accurate that's good. A lot of stuff gets tossed from supermarkets that is still perfectly safe to eat. (It talks about food labels.... was wondering if it'll apply to vitamins. I always toss vitamins that reach the use by date.)

What do you think?

Food labels that say “sell by” or “best before” are misleading because they have no universal meaning under current laws. Now California wants to crack down on such practices, bidding to help consumers stop playing guessing games with produce and other items in their fridges.

.... nearly 20% of the nation's food waste, according to the Food and Drug Administration. In California, that's about 6 million tons of unexpired food that's tossed in the trash each year.
...
The law is set to take effect in July 2026, establishing a new standard for food labeling in California. It will require the use of “Best if Used By” label to signal peak quality and “Use By” label for product safety, an approach recommended by federal agencies. The law provides exemption for eggs, beer and other malt beverages.

https://www.ksby.com/life/food-and-drink/california-becomes-first-state-to-ban-sell-by-dates-on-food-packaging

[Lonestarblue]

1. I always look at dates on produce especially, but the useful ones are harvest dates.

Some lettuce has the date it was picked and usually it shows that a couple of weeks have passed while the lettuce was either being shipped or sitting in a grocer’s warehouse deteriorating. Most fresh produce and fruit do not have harvest dates, which would be useful. Not all the waste is from expired use by dates. Some grocers also have a habit of mixing older fruit with fresh fruit so that the fruit in the middle of a container, and hidden, is already rotting by the time it is purchased. I’ve had to throw away half a pint of blueberries I just purchased, for example, because of this practice.

[jimfields33]

2. I made the mistake of putting the hamburger meat in the refer

on Monday. I came to use it Thursday and it was bad, bad, bad! I also left out pork chops for twenty four hours. Not a good idea. I actually forgot about the pork chops. These incidents happened within the last two weeks. Lost almost 40 bucks. Be careful with food!!!!! California should be careful with this especially meats.

[usonian]

4. Did the hamburger meat get contaminated by utensils?

I have heard that of cheese. Some seems to last and other will mold up quickly. Just a wild guess.

[usonian]

3. But I consume mostly eggs and beer!

Just kidding.

You can look up "use by" dates on the web, especially from federal agencies that really need to give good advice. I do.

I think that vitamins that lose their potency would not be on store shelves. Get those vitamins from good food.

Just my two cents worth.

As for bread, I distust two kinds.

1. Bread that spoils quickly. What a waste.
2. Bread that doesn't spoil quickly. Must be loaded with preservatives.

I wonder about sourdough. It seens to keep, but since I shop and cook for one, I put bread in the fridge to preserve it. Gets crowded there.

Yes, bread freezes. I have cold spots in the fridge, and I can tell you, salad doesn't freeze well.

[BWdem4life]

5. Vitamins past their use-by date

may lose a bit of potency but are otherwise safe. Especially if unopened and/or stored correctly.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-vitamins-expire#shelf-life

[Wonder Why]

6. How about the federal regulations that override mfgr expiration dates on prescriptions and

enforce putting a one year expiration date on medications that are good for far longer. I have some standby short-term insulin that it takes me well over a year to go through the box because I am doing so well with my sugar numbers. The mfgr says 7-31-26 on the box that is always kept refrigerated (comes with 5 pens) but the government-required label says discard after 5/28/2025. It was filled in May of this year. And that is true of all my medications.

Check any medication that comes in its original container and compare the mfgr expiration with the 1 year "discard by" from the government. What a waste! Doesn't matter if it doesn't need refrigeration.

And don't tell me that it's because it might not be good because it was not kept at the right temperature. That's true of bread, too. It will get moldy faster at room temperature, more slowly in the fridge and really slowly when frozen.