California shoppers will soon have a much easier time figuring out whether food is still good to eat.
As Fox Business reported, California is introducing a new rule for food-package date labels that standardizes the terms shoppers will see and eliminates consumer-facing "sell by" wording on many foods sold in the state.
What happened?
Beginning Tuesday, California started a simpler date-labeling system for manufacturers, processors, and retailers that choose to place expiration-style dates on food packaging, as Fox Business detailed.
For example, covered foods made on or after July 1, 2026, must use "BEST if Used by" or "BEST if Used or Frozen by" for quality and "USE by" or "USE by or Freeze by" for safety.
Covered foods can no longer display shopper-facing "sell by" labels, which is language that has long added to confusion in many homes, per Fox Business. The outlet noted that retailers may still use coded labels for stock rotation that customers would not be expected to read, but the consumer-visible wording is now being narrowed to a small set of standard phrases.
According to Fox Business, the California Department of Food and Agriculture said that more than 50 different date-label phrases have appeared on food in the U.S.
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The outlet also reported that the department estimated Californians throw away the equivalent of 2.5 billion meals of unspoiled food each year.
The new legislation makes California the first state to standardize the food date labels consumers see, per Fox Business.
Assembly member Jacqui Irwin, one of the legislation's authors, called it "a simple change with meaningful benefits for families, businesses, and the environment" on X.
Why does it matter?
When people mistake a quality date for a safety warning, they often throw away food that is still safe to eat, only to spend more money replacing it.
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A label such as "BEST if Used by" refers to quality, not danger, while "USE by" is meant for safety. That adds a lot more clarity to consumer decisions on whether to toss items or hold onto them.
Fox Business noted that the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery said organic waste makes up about 48% of the material sent to California landfills. As that waste breaks down, it produces roughly 41% of the state's methane pollution.
Methane is a powerful heat-trapping gas that heats up the Earth, and America's vast food waste problem is highly linked with it. These changes can help guide consumers to use up still-good food instead of worsening the issue by tossing it in the trash.
What's being done?
The law does not force companies to start adding date labels to products that otherwise would not have them. Fox Business reported that it instead standardizes the wording for businesses that choose, or are already required, to include quality or safety dates.
The measure also leaves out some categories. Fox Business noted that infant formula, eggs, pasteurized in-shell eggs, and beer and other malt beverages are exempt, and that grocery stores may still use "packed on" labels for prepared foods if those products also carry the required quality or safety date language.
With the changes, a "best if used by" date points to peak quality, not necessarily spoilage. Those subtle differences can help consumers know what they're getting into, as opposed to unnecessarily scaring them off.
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