Some of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, including Kellogg Co and Wal-Mart Stores Inc, on Wednesday said they would simplify food expiration labels in an effort to eliminate confusion that contributes to food waste.
Standardized labeling will use a single expiration date on perishable items and a single quality indicator for non-perishable items, the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) said.
Confusion over expiration labels costs families up to US$29 billion annually in the US alone, according to the forum, which represents about 400 of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers from 70 countries.
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, there is enough food to feed the world’s population, but one-third is wasted.
Labels in use such as “Sell by,” “Use by” and “Best before” were developed beginning in the 1960s to increase consumer safety, but have multiplied, Ignacio Gavilan, a forum spokesman, told reporters.
“Now now we have the 12 or 15 expressions that we have today,” he said.
Since most countries have no laws regulating labeling, its arbitrary use by companies has led to widespread confusion among consumers, experts say.
“The tendency of the consumer is if they get confused, they throw it away,” Gavilan said. “There may be two dates and one of them is close, so they just say: ‘Well, why risk getting sick?’”
About 40 percent of the world’s food waste takes place at retail stores and in households, Gavilan said.
Simplified, consistent date labeling would help companies halve food waste by 2025, the forum’s managing director Peter Freedman said.
Under the new plan, only two labels — “Best if used by” for non-perishable items and “Use by” for perishable ones — will be used by forum members by 2020.
The forum includes most of the world’s consumer goods giants, from Tesco PLC to Campbell Soup Co, Nestle SA and Unilever PLC.
A report last year by ReFED, a non-profit that works with companies to cut food waste, said standardized labeling was one of the most cost-effective ways to address the issue.
“This low lying-fruit of date labeling standardization is exactly the type of solution that everyone can agree is fairly low-effort, cost-effective and has a positive impact on reducing consumer confusion, which ultimately helps to reduce food waste,” ReFED spokeswoman Eva Goulbourne said.
The announcement was made at an event held by Champions 12.3, a group established to promote the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of cutting food waste and losses by 2030.
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