California is banning ‘sell-by’ food dates. How Canada’s packaging compares

California is taking a significant step to combat food waste by prohibiting 'sell-by' dates on food packaging, a change that took effect this week. The state's Department of Food and Agriculture stated that these labels often confuse consumers, leading to the disposal of perfectly wholesome food.

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The sell-by date is a guideline to say this is when this should be off the shelf at a grocery store. It doesn’t mean that this is when it’s not good anymore. It doesn’t mean it’s not safe anymore. It just means from a freshness perspective, that’s the date that they suggest something gets sold by.

This initiative aims to tackle the substantial amount of food waste in California, where an estimated 2.5 billion meals go uneaten each year. This discarded food constitutes a significant portion of the organic waste sent to landfills. Experts note that many consumers mistakenly equate 'sell-by' dates with expiration dates, contributing to the problem.

In contrast, Canada largely relies on 'best before' dates. Food economist Mike von Massow explained that 'best before' indicates when a product is at its peak quality, not when it becomes unsafe. He noted that confusion over date labels costs Canada billions annually in avoidable food waste.

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It is a measure of the time until which a product is at its peak in terms of quality, not safety.

Second Harvest CEO Lori Nikkel praised California's move, suggesting that adopting a system with clear 'best before' and 'use by' dates, as used in many countries, could significantly reduce confusion and waste. California's new law requires manufacturers to distinguish between quality dates, like 'best if used by,' and safety dates, such as 'use by.'

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I love what they did (in California). Most countries have a ‘best before’ date and a ‘use by’ date. Even if we just did that, there would be less confusion. ‘Best before’ means peak freshness, ‘used by’ means safety.