‘Best Before’ Labels Scrutinized as Food Waste Concerns Grow

As awareness grows around the world about the problem of food waste, one culprit in particular is drawing scrutiny: “best before” labels. 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. To tackle the problem, major U.K. chains recently removed “best before” labels from prepackaged fruit and vegetables. The European Union is considering abolishing “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. Read more from AP here.