After the UN General Assembly announced that the world is on the brink of food shortages, study reports on food waste are coming out.
Most of the world's ageing foodstuffs are associated with expiration dates.

Labels have been used by manufacturers to determine the freshness of food for decades. Unlike "use by" labels, which are found on perishable foods like meat and dairy, "best before" labels have nothing to do with safety and may encourage consumers to throw away food that's perfectly fine to eat.

"They read these dates and then they assume that it's bad, they can't eat it and they toss it when these dates don't actually mean that they're not edible or they're not still nutritious or tasty," said Patty Apple, a manager at Food Shift, an Alameda, California, nonprofit that collects and uses expired or imperfect foods.

To address the issue, major UK chains such as Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer have recently removed "best before" labels from pre-packaged fruit and vegetables. The European Union is expected to announce an overhaul of labelling rules later this year; Considering doing away with "best before" labels altogether.

In the U.S., there's no similar push to scrap "best before" labels. But there is growing momentum to standardize the language on date labels to help educate buyers about food waste, including a push from big grocers and food companies and bipartisan legislation in Congress.

The United Nations estimates that 17% of global food production is wasted each year; Most of it comes from homes. In the US, 35% of available food goes uneaten.

When food is wasted, not only materials are wasted, but also land, water, energy and fertilizers used for agriculture.

High greenhouse gas emissions occur when unwanted food goes to waste.

There are many reasons for food waste, from large portion sizes to consumer rejection of imperfect products. But studies show that most food waste is caused by consumer confusion over "best before" labels.

Date labels were widely adopted by manufacturers in the 1970s to answer consumer concerns about product freshness.

Since 2019, the Food and Drug Administration — which regulates around 80% of U.S. food — has recommended that manufacturers use the labels “best if used by” for freshness and “use by” for perishable goods, based on surveys showing that consumers understand those phrases.

But the effort is voluntary, and the language on labels continues to vary widely, from “sell by” to “enjoy by” to “freshest before.” A survey released in June by researchers at the University of Maryland found at least 50 different date labels used on U.S. grocery shelves and widespread confusion among customers.

Milk can be safely consumed up to a week past its "use by" date, Lipsitt said. Gunters said canned goods and many other packaged foods can be safely eaten for years past their "best before" date. The FDA recommends that consumers look for changes in colour, consistency, or texture to determine whether a food is safe to eat.

Some U.K. Grocery chains are actively encouraging customers to use their senses. Morrisons removed “use by” dates from most store-brand milk in January and replaced them with a “best before” label. Co-op, another grocery chain, did the same to its store-brand yoghurts.

Without labels, employees don't know which items to remove from the shelves.

In the absence of federal policy, states have stepped in with their own laws, frustrating food companies and grocers. Florida and Nevada, for example, require “sell by” dates on shellfish and dairy, and Arizona requires “best by” or “use by” dates on eggs, according to Emily Broad Lieb, director of the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School.

Clearer labelling and donation rules could help nonprofits like Food Shift, which trains chefs using rescued food. It even makes dog treats from overripe bananas, recovered chicken fat and spent grain from a brewer, Apple said.

"We definitely need to be focusing more on doing these small actions like addressing expiration date labels, because even though it's such a tiny part of this whole food waste issue, it can be very impactful," Apple said.